Don and Margie Varnado
United Methodists Don and Margie Varnado were known for their "kindness and caring," according to their pastor. (UM Insight Screenshot; family photo)
A United Methodist couple on a train trip to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary were among those killed when a passenger train derailed in rural Montana Sept. 25.
By all published accounts, Don and Margie Varnadoe were exemplary and beloved members of St. Simons United Methodist Church on St. Simons Island, where they were residents for 45 years. The Rev. Tom Jones, senior pastor and a close friend of the Varnadoes, said the congregation is in shock over the deaths of the couple who had been leaders in the church for more than four decades.
According to a report from News4Jax, Don Varnadoe, a longtimme realtor, served as an usher and on the church's finance committee. Margie Varnadoe, a retired teacher and school administrator, participated in the church’s Stephen Ministry. The latter is a specialized outreach in which trained laypeople and clergy help people through difficult life events.
“They were just stellar members of our church,” Jones was quoted by News4Jax. “They’re the type who are always here unless they were traveling. They love to travel.
“It’s kind of ironic that she’s passed now, and it’s like all of us left behind need a Stephen minister, somebody to walk with us to get us through this difficult time,” Jones was quoted. “The grief is almost palpable. I mean, we announced that Sunday morning and worship, and you could just sense over the congregation that this heaviness descended.
“These were two individuals who just genuinely cared for others," the pastor was quoted. "They’re special people that have left an empty place in our hearts and in this community.”
A thir person, Zachariah Schneider, 28, of Illinois, also was killed when the Amtrak train called the Empire Builder derailed in Montana enroute from Chicago to Seattle. His wife, Rebecca Schneider, who survived the crash, has filed suit against Amtrak and BNSF Railway, alleging that the train operator failed react to whatever caused the derailment.
News reports said that National Transportation Safety Board investigators don't yet know what caused the derailment. In looking over available video and audio records, railroad crash experts surmise that a possible cause may have been heat-induced buckling from the summer's extremely hot temperatures. If that speculation proves to be true, then the Varnadoes and Mr. Schneider could be considered victims of extended effects of the global climate crisis.