For a month after his brother was struck by a Red Line train while making repairs at the Dupont Circle station, Jong Pil Lee wondered how to help his three young nieces who would live the rest of their lives without their father.
Lee — whose brother Jong Won Lee, 49, of Springfield, Va., died May 14 — then sat down to write a letter urging Metro officials to create a scholarship fund for the children. Lee would also be joined in his mission by Betty Waldron, whose husband, Mike Waldron, 47, was hit by a train in October and later died.
Lee’s efforts came to fruition Thursday after the Metro board voted unanimously to create a scholarship fund for his three nieces, Martha, Margaret and Rebecca, and 13-year-old Mike Waldron.
“The scholarship means a lot,” Lee said. “It builds appreciation. A lot of children lose their opportunity for education when they lose a parent. They will never touch their father again, but now they can be touched by him.”
Metro Interim General Manager Dan Tangherlini introduced the proposal. He said he was so moved after visiting the Lee family hours after the death that the transit agency will also build a memorial to honor fallen employees.
“Each day our employees provide nearly 1.2 million people with transportation that gets them to work, school, home, church, culture and entertainment,” Tangherlini said. “They do it safely and efficiently. However, they do not do it without some personal risk. The memorial will bear testament to that risk for both our employees and our riders.”
Thirteen Metro employees have died on the job in the agency’s 30-year history.
Details of the plan, including how the scholarship program will be funded and where a memorial would be built, are expected in the next 60 days, officials said.
