Birth date: Jan 20, 1954 Death date: Feb 18, 2016
David Henry Felts, 62, of Mount Dora, FL, died at home on Thursday, February 18, 2016. Born and raised in Lakeland, he moved to Mount Dora in 1987. He was a locomotive engineer for Amtrak’s Auto Train. He was a skilled carpenter, Read Obituary
So very sorry to hear of this. Our hearts go out to you all; such a loss. We were in Mount Dora only a few months when I (Elizabeth) went for a walk and met David. He was sitting on the porch of an old farm house, a sign at his side - save this house! Hard to believe it was more than 23 years ago. He drew Rod and I in and we are proud to have known David and helped in a small way. We know he will be missed by many. Our love & regards to Lynn and their children, Rod & Elizabeth Brewer
I first met Dave when my brother dated his youngest daughter after a wacky boy scout/girl scout weekend in Wildwood. Dave knew I was interested in trains and so he took every opportunity to spoil this geeky teenager on some train time. Most of my summer that year was spent either in the Sanford switching yard or at his house in Mt Dora. Lots of things came about after that summer which drove a wedge between myself and the interest I shared with Dave that summer but I never forgot it. A few years later I began working for Time Warner Cable and worked side by side with Dave's son Byron. But after about a year and making no progress in the career I had chosen, I happened to find myself on that front porch again with Dave, talking about life and my career choices. "Sometimes I just want to go and fix [computers] with a big hammer!" I told Dave, which brought him to a chuckle. He agreed that would make him happy as well sometimes. "You ever apply to work for the railroad? " he asked, "I bet they will let you fix things with a big hammer," he added. At first, I just figured he was being sarcastic, but I humored him and stopped by the depot in Mt Dora to talk to the station agent who was also the general manager. He asked me to come aboard and start in the concessions. The very next week they asked me to fire the steam engine. I went back to Dave's house after a day of firing that engine and shared my experience with him. He seemed quite pleased with my endeavors and offered me a final word of advice. "you can make a career out of the railroad, but be careful because it's a lot different today than when I started. Try to get the most out of it and have fun, otherwise it'll just be a job and you'll find yourself working too hard. A man who enjoys his job will never work a day in his life, "
Dave, your words are worth more than gold. Even last Wednesday we were just talking about the trouble of work and having our jokes about the current state of the business. You were saying you'd like to retire soon and I was telling you that I look forward to being in your position one day. Never would have guessed it was the last time I would speak to you.
Dave Felts, you were a huge inspiration to me, professionally and personally. For the past 21 years, I have been blessed to have you and your family as my friends. I will miss you terribly but I look forward to the reunion. In the meantime, I will lift up your wife and family in prayers. Thanks for the memories! Until then, be safe and keep it on the rails! Out...
Dave was a coworker to me for about 12 years at Amtrak (Auto train). I remember one day he came to work without his jacket and I told him it was going to rain and he said no way no cloud in sky. Later that day he was on the train and no jacket and it started to rain. He told rest of the guys in the locker room to watch out for me as I could tell when it was going to rain. This was just one story out of a bunch as Dave was a man with a lot of friends and he was always ready to help any way he could.Dave will be miss in more ways then one at Amtrak.
My son Mike also had some great memories with Dave over the pass year. Dave worked with Mike and was always ready to help him when he moved from Jacksonville
to work in Sanford. Dave now you can rest and look down on the Amtrak and say you
helped to get that train where it is today with a smile on your face as you will be miss by all.
A Friend,
Leroy F. Thrift
There are so many special memories that span years, but mainly his willingness to help whether it was for Girl Scouts, (trust me, we had him busy all the time!), his work with the Historical Society, or just relaxing for a well deserved minute on his porch surrounded by his topiaries and large variety of plants and trees he took such pride in caring for. You will be missed Dave!
