The tolling of the bell rang out 19 times at the North Idaho Worker's Memorial at Coeur d’Alene City Park on Tuesday, marking the lives of those who died on the job in 2025. 

It was a somber occasion for close to 75 people, many of whom had difficulty holding back tears as they said goodbye to family members and close friends. 

Mike Keith, a Union Ironworker with Ironworkers Local 14, said in the 18 years he has been in the trade that not a year has gone by without someone suffering an injury or losing their life due to a jobsite incident. 

“There are hazards in every trade and industry, whether it's exposure to hazardous chemicals, risks of falls, crushing injuries, burns, suffocation or jobsite violence, as was the case last summer when our community was shaken and two of our bravest were taken from us on Canfield Mountain,” Keith said. “The names that will be read today and placed on the wall behind me have been etched in painful history.” 

He said statistics are tracked within job-site injuries, deaths and illnesses, but that no measurement can capture the toll of that loss on a family. 

The names on that wall included: 

• Ted Schumacher 

• Terry Hollifield 

• Nemorio Trejo 

• Frank Harwood 

• John Morrison Jr. 

• Eric Wenzelberger 

• Trampas Patten 

• Tanner Neeley 

• J. Hank Hester 

• Frank Rogers 

• Isabella Grace Oscarson 

• Lynda Leamaster 

• Manuel Rodriguez 

• Raul Diaze 

• Patrick Molvik 

• Guillermo “Memo” Ojeda 

• Angel Cortes Gallegos 

• Frank Johnson 

• Austin Michael Matheson 

Keith said April 28, Worker’s Memorial Day, is now an International Day of Remembrance of workers killed in accidents at work, or by incidents and diseases caused by their work. 

“Worker’s Memorial Day is an opportunity to highlight the preventable nature of most workplace accidents and ill health, and to promote campaigns in the fight for improvements in workplace safety,” Keith said. “The slogan for today is: Mourn for the dead — Fight for the living.” 

Keith said roughly 380 workers die each day in the United States, and that workplace deaths and injuries cost the economy an estimated $177 billion to $354 billion annually. Those estimates, he said, are based on reported cases and do not account for underreporting, which is estimated at between 5 and 7.5 million work-related injuries and illnesses each year. 

“It’s incumbent on each one of us to stand up for our fellow workers — if you see something — say something,” Keith said. “Help our brothers and sisters return home at the conclusion of their workday.” 

Keith said mental health and signs of emotional fatigue are real and powerful. 

“Traumatic experiences at work and stressors at home can all play a factor in our attention to detail and recognition of hazards at work,” he said. “If you notice a co-worker struggling, have the courage to speak to them and to check on them. A simple conversation can save a life. We are all our brothers and sisters' keepers.” 

    A somber moment during the memorial as people remember the passing of friends and family.
  

    A bugler plays taps to close out the memorial ceremony.
  

    Fritz Wiedenhoff rings the bell each time Mike Keith reads the name of one who died on the job.