Lee Allan Train, known to nearly everyone as “L.A.,” died on June 3 in Houston. He was 86.
L.A. was born March 4, 1940, in Corpus Christi, Texas, to Herbert and Anne Train. He grew up in a close family and helped run the business founded by his father and grandfather, Joseph Swiff, in 1937.
L.A. met his future wife, Rona Chafetz of Memphis, in 1960 at Tulane University. They wed over Labor Day weekend in 1962. After graduating from Tulane, L.A. joined the family company—American Steel and its subsidiary Swiff-Train—in June 1962, working alongside his father and brothers. As the years progressed, more family members joined the business, starting with Rona in 1983 and many more during the next generation.
They grew the company to national and international reach. At its height, Swiff-Train employed more than 200 people and sold products in 54 countries. The family sold Swiff-Train in 2014. In 2023, L.A. and his grandson Jake Train founded Train Industries, bringing a fifth generation into the business.
L.A. loved to travel and had a rare gift for understanding people. He is remembered by family, friends and colleagues for “asking penetrating questions that got to the heart of the matter; he was quick with a compliment, slow to anger, honest with his feedback and gave compassionate ‘tough love’ with an empathetic smile.”
By 1989, his heart was failing due to health issues that had been diagnosed when he was a teenager. He and Rona left Corpus Christi and moved near the Texas Medical Center in Houston to wait for a donor heart. On March 4, 1990—his 50th birthday—L.A. received a new heart at St. Luke’s Hospital. He spent the next 36 years honoring that gift.
He and Rona devoted themselves to organ-donation advocacy by helping found a transplant support group, speaking to various organizations and comforting patients and their families. He never met his donor’s family but never stopped being grateful. The added years enabled him to see his children marry and welcome eight grandchildren.
L.A. is survived by his wife, Rona; his daughter and son-in-law, Terri and Alan Greenspan; his son, Richard Train; and his son and daughter-in-law, Jonathan and Nina Train. He leaves his beloved grandchildren: Adam (Lisa Meehan) Greenspan, Sara Greenspan and Jennifer Greenspan; Jeremy Train and Ally (Gav Blaxberg) Blaxberg-Train; and Ilyssa (Josh) Caldwell, Jake Train and Zoe Train. He is also survived by his brothers, Kenny Train and Jeff Train and his wife Marilyn.
A service was held on Friday, June 5, at Seaside Funeral Home in Corpus Christi followed by a burial at Seaside Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for memorial contributions to be made to the Texas Heart Institute.
