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Respect, honor, remember
MoDOT held its seventh annual Day of Remembrance on Sept. 19 to honor the 134 MoDOT workers who were killed in the line of duty. The ceremony was held at the Fallen Worker Memorial, just west of MoDOT's Central Office near the Capitol in Jefferson City.
"Today, I am happy to be able to report that we have not added a name to this memorial since 2017," said MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna.
Other MoDOT presenters included Chief Financial Officer Brenda Morris; Deputy Director/Chief Engineer Ed Hassinger; Chief Safety and Operations Officer Becky Allmeroth; and Interim Chief Administrative Officer Lester Woods.
Beth Ebker and Nicole Herbel spoke about Lyndon Ebker and the passage of "Lyndon's Law," which authorizes the Missouri Department of Revenue to revoke the driver's license of anyone who hits a highway or utility worker in a work zone, or an emergency responder in an emergency zone.
Bri Lizotte talked about her father, Gerald Lizotte, Jr., who was killed while transporting materials for testing from a jobsite he was overseeing.
View ceremony photos - Watch ceremony video |
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Southeast District honors fallen
workers with dual ceremonies
The Southeast District held two ceremonies to honor fallen workers during this year's Day of Remembrance.
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Intermediate Maintenance Worker Darryl Bratton served as the speaker for the Sikeston District Office ceremony.
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Intermediate Maintenance Worker Darryl Bratton served as the speaker for the Sikeston District Office ceremony.
"To date, we have 134 fallen MoDOT workers statewide," said Bratton. "We often talk about statistics, but these employees are more than just a number. These employees were fathers, mothers, sons and daughters who were taken from their families."
Bratton has a very personal connection to Day of Remembrance and delivered a very impactful speech to attendees. He lost his father, Homer Bratton, in a backing incident when he worked for MoDOT in 1968.
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Assistant District Engineer Chris Rutledge led the ceremony at the Willow Springs Regional Office.
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Assistant District Engineer Chris Rutledge led the ceremony at the Willow Springs R
egional Office.
"We can take every precaution possible to keep ourselves and our customers safe, but we need the help of the traveling public too," said Rutledge.
Dorothy Phillips and Rita Edge, daughters of southeast fallen worker Gerald Lizotte, attended the Willow Springs ceremony. Lizotte passed in 1964 as he was traveling with two other MoDOT employees when their truck overturned.
To view photos from the Southeast District's Day of Remembrance ceremonies,
please click here.
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Honoring the fallen in Central District
Despite the noise from Missouri Boulevard traffic, construction and a car wash across the street, a large crowd gathered outside the Central District offices in Jefferson City to honor workers who lost their lives working on Missouri roads.
Around 75 people, including MoDOT employees and the families of fallen workers, were present at the Central District Fallen Workers Memorial. The quiet group stood in reflection throughout the 20-minute ceremony as Assistant District Engineer Randy Aulbur spoke of remembering those who were lost and the safety effort that must accompany those memories.
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Customer Service Representative Danielle Goodman participates in honoring the fallen at the Central District.
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"They were loyal workers simply trying to do their jobs and go back home to you and your loved ones at the end of the day," Aulbur said, speaking specifically to the families in attendance. "We owe it to each of these fallen workers to do everything in our power to make sure no more lives are lost. As employees, we need to rededicate ourselves each and every day to keep ourselves, our coworkers and our customers safe on the road."
The families of Lefete Essary and Duane Pace were part of the group that attended Thursday's ceremony.
The ceremony featured the Helias Catholic High School Concert Choir, who performed the National Anthem and the song "Good Night, Dear Heart." The Missouri Department of Corrections Color Guard posted and retired the colors for the ceremony.
The culmination of the ceremony featured Central District employees reading the name of the district's 19 fallen workers followed by a moment of silence.
Following the ceremony, hugs and kind words were exchanged, which shows how, as Aulbur said during the ceremony, the path forward is forged through the bond between MoDOT and the families, friends and co-workers who will not forget the fallen.
"We won't forget the sacrifice these individuals made. And we won't forget the strength that each of you have as you carried on. They will forever be missed."
To see more photos from Central District's Day of Remembrance ceremony, click here.
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Northwest District Day of Remembrance
MoDOT employees, retirees and family members of fallen workers gathered together at 1:34 p.m. for the Northwest District's Day of Remembrance ceremony. Three families of fallen workers attended this year's district ceremony including Loyd Land's niece, Otis Stretch's son and daughter and the family of Claud Adkison. Claude's daughters Margaret Watts and Joyce Cozad were joined by their brother Wayne Adkison for the ceremony.
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The family of fallen worker Claude Adkison gather at the Northwest District Fallen Worker Memorial Bench. Pictured: daughter Joyce Cozad (standing), son Claude Adkison and daughter Margaret Watts (seated).
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"It is always an honor to attend this ceremony, for our father and others who have given their lives working for MoDOT," said Claude's daughter Margaret Watts.
The impact of losing a family member is profound and long lasting. When Claude passed away in 1968, Joyce was only four-years-old, Margaret was preparing for her wedding in two weeks and Wayne was in the Vietnam War. His family was unable to contact Wayne, who was on the way back to the United States and made it home one day after his father's funeral. The Adkison family tries to attend the Day of Remembrance every year.
This year, individual name plaques were added to the Northwest District Fallen Worker Memorial Bench to honor the 18 individuals who lost their lives while working for MoDOT.
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Those no longer seen
"In Silent Tribute" is a poem written by a former MoDOT employee in memory of fallen workers and read each year during the Northeast District's Day of Remembrance ceremonies. It is etched in granite at the memorial site at the district office in Hannibal.
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Day of Remembrance ceremonies were held at both the Northeast District Office and Macon Regional Office. The Missouri State Highway Patrol participated in each of the ceremonies by placing a wreath by the memorials.
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Every employee on the district's MoDOT team was able to participate in his or her own work unit this year.
"Because we have always had the ceremony mid-afternoon at the district and regional offices, it has been difficult for our field employees to attend," said Northeast District Engineer Paula Gough.
Members of the Northeast Leadership team went to individual buildings to lead a tribute to the 17 fallen employees from the district. Names of fallen workers were read and a table top memorial with the names of the fallen workers was left at each building.
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Senior Maintenance Worker Matt Carroll sang a hymn during the ceremony at the Macon Regional Office.
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Ceremonies were still held at 1 p.m. at the District Office and Macon Regional Office. Several employees and families of fallen workers attended and placed flowers on the memorials as their loved ones' names were read.
In addition to Gough and Assistant District Engineer Kevin James helping with the ceremonies, employees at each location also played a part. Keith Killen and Bob Manzke said a prayer, Matt Carroll and Mike Baxter provided vocal music, Jonathan Bruner read fallen employees' names, and Jim Long and Tom Batenhorst read the poem "In Silent Tribute."
Not only is this a tribute this day, but every day.
To view a video commemorating the ceremonies in the Northeast District, click here.
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Southwest District joins in
remembering fallen employees
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A Southwest District maintenance employee lays flowers at the base of a memorial while Maintenance Crew Leader Charlotte Scott reads the names of fallen workers during the Day of Remembrance ceremony at the Springfield District Office.
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Family, friends, flowers and "Taps." These were elements used to remember Southwest District employees who died serving Missouri during the statewide Day of Remembrance.
MoDOT workers gathered with family members of fallen workers at the Branson and Bradleyville facilities to remember their 22 district colleagues who died.
Employees and family members of fallen workers also gathered at the Springfield and Joplin complexes for ceremonies.
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Members of James Minton's family look at memorial items before the ceremony at the Joplin Regional Office. Minton, a 29-year veteran employee, died Feb. 21, 1991 in a gas explosion at a work conference at Lake of the Ozarks.
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In Springfield, roses were laid at memorials as the names of the fallen were read. One by one, MoDOT employees and family members placed the flowers beneath each name.
Missouri Highway Patrol Troop D also participated, remembering five southwest Missouri troopers who died in the line of duty.
Dr. Robert Thurman, professor emeritus at Missouri State University, played "Taps" after the names were read.
Click this link to view a video of the Day of Remembrance observance in Springfield.
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Kansas City District employees honored
during annual Day of Remembrance
The Kansas City District honored employees lost in the line of duty during MoDOT's annual Day of Remembrance.
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District Engineer Dave Silvester spoke to employees and guests at the Kansas City District's Day of Remembrance ceremony. The district has had 22 employees lost in the line of duty.
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"This is the seventh year we've been doing this as a state agency," District Engineer Dave Silvester told the crowd of people at the tribute. "It's a somber tribute that we do for the 134 people around the state lost in the line of duty."
Since 1934, 134 MoDOT employees have lost their lives at work, and 22 of those came from the Kansas City District.
MoDOT staff read the names of each of the 22 people who died on the job. Their sacrifices will never be forgotten.
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The Kansas City District used a channelizer, vest and hard hat to represent each life lost in the line of duty in the district. Staff placed perennial flowers in front of each that will be planted outside the district office.
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"They were loyal folks. They were taken from us way too soon," Silvester said. "They will be forever missed."
"These employees were humble public servants just doing their job when something unexpected and tragic happened which would change the lives of so many forever," Assistant District Engineer Susan Barry said. "We've made many advances in our equipment and technology over the years and have safety procedures that we practice every day, and we are continually working to improve safety in everything that we do."
The ceremony concluded with a moment of silence and the reciting of the safety pledge.
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St. Louis honors the fallen
The St. Louis District honored their fallen on the Day of Remembrance at their Memorial Rock in front of the district office.
A hard hat with all of the names of the St. Louis District's fallen workers was placed on the district's Memorial Rock outside the district office.
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Joan Wieda, widow of Maintenance Superintendent William "Bill" Wieda, places a memorial hard hat in honor of her fallen husband during the ceremony.
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The mission of Connections is to be a source of MoDOT news
and feature articles that connects employees statewide.
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MoDOT Communications
P.O. Box 270, Jefferson City, MO 65102
Editor: Tammy Wallace
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