BUFFALO, N.Y. — If you’ve ever ridden Buffalo’s Metro Rail through Buffalo Place, then you owe a “thank you” to the late William Yokley.
"And as they built the subway system, he oversaw the light rail rapid transit system, the subway from the beginning point downtown at Canalside, until it went underground,” said Yokley's stepson, Bernie Tolbert.
Tolbert is a former FBI Special Agent in charge of the Buffalo District. His mother had raised five kids on her own when Bill entered the picture.
“He embraced us as his own children,” Tolbert said.
It wasn’t just his stepkids that Bill wanted to help.
“He was very much involved with Cradle Beach Camp because me and my siblings practically grew up and the camp in summers, and he wanted to be a part of everything that we were, so he started coming out to the camp and volunteer out there,” Tolbert recalled.
Eventually, Yokley became the maintenance director of Cradle Beach Camp, and he did that for more than two decades. He also oversaw maintenance at St. John Towers, which is a senior citizens building owned by St. John’s Baptist Church.
Yokley was heavily involved in St. John's Baptist Church.
All of this, after rising through the ranks at the NFTA, eventually becoming Supervisor of Transportation.
“Yeah, he always seemed be … always had a job to do.”
Jobs helping people.
William E. Yokley died on March 7, 2021, at age 93, after a brief period of declining health, but more importantly, after a Life Well Lived.