Stations Mourns Thankachan Mathai, 56

Brothers and Sisters in Stations are mourning the loss of CTA Thankachan Mathai, who worked at Forest Hills/71st Avenue in Queens. Brother Mathai had 20 years of service with NYCT and passed on April 4. He first became sick with COVID-19 on March 24, his son Mathews said.

Mathews said his father was born in Kerala, India, and held a degree in Physics when he came to the United States with his sister and his mother, then entered a career with the transit authority. “He was honored to have the job,” Mathews said. “He took it very seriously. He felt a sense of responsibility to his duties as a father, as a Christian, and as an MTA employee.”

Mathews, 22, is a student at Stonybrook with ambitions of becoming a teacher. His younger brother, Cyril, is 20 and studying at SUNY Albany. Cyril’s ambition of becoming a lawyer made his father very proud, his son said.

Stations VP Lynwood Whichard remembered that Brother Mathai “did his work with absolute precision and focus, never complaining.” In addition to his two boys, Brother Mathai leaves his wife, Sheeba.