Martin Garelick

Martin Garelick, 94, died peacefully on February 2, 2019, in Boca Raton, Florida. He was born in Rochester, New York on May 18, 1924 as the son of the late Esther and Samuel Garelick. He is survived by his wife Betty Mann Garelick of Boca Raton, Florida, and many nieces, nephews and grand nieces and nephews.

He began his college years at Purdue University in 1941. His years there were interrupted by WWII where he served in the Pacific Theatre. He was in the 360th Combat Engineer Battalion in the Philippines and was preparing for a beach landing in Japan when the war ended. In the fall of 1946, he returned to Purdue and graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering. After Purdue, he began his railroad career at the Milwaukee Railroad. Upon retirement from Milwaukee Railroad, he served as Executive Vice President and COO for AMTRAK in Washington, DC. He later took a job with the consulting firm, Wyer Dick. He subsequently was hired by the state of New Jersey in 1982 to help create the New Jersey Transit Rail where he served as General Manager of Rail Operations for NJT.

He retired in 1984 and became a full time resident of Boca Raton, Florida. During his retirement, he did consulting work for the Kyle Railway organization. He temporarily moved to Maui to manage one of Kyle railroads, The Sugar Cane Train, during a management transition from January 1995 to May 1996.

Marty was a successful and highly regarded railroad executive partly because he appreciated and enjoyed the personal relationships with all those around him. He continued to cultivate friendships in his retirement and was a most popular person wherever he was.

Memorials would be appreciated at the American Heart Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars, or the ACTS Foundation.