Family mourns ‘larger than life’ Index newlywed, 78, killed by train

INDEX — Bob and Molly Hubbard had a love story for the ages.

They met about 50 years ago at the Bush House in Index, the town where her sister lived. At first, they were just two people who loved hiking. There was a romantic spark, but they lost contact off and on over five decades.

Molly Hubbard ended up moving to Michigan, marrying someone else, living in Alaska for a while, then coming to Everett and marrying again. She was widowed when the pair reconnected in Index a few years ago. They became the Hubbards in November 2022.

On May 9, a train struck Molly Hubbard, 78, in the 400 block of Index Avenue. She did not survive her injuries.

That day, the couple was having Saturday morning coffee at the Bush House, the same place they met all those years ago. Molly Hubbard went back to the house to grab something. The rail line runs right through Index, in a U-shaped detour from the Skykomish River valley, and right past their house.

According the sheriff’s office, she tried to go over the tracks while the crossing arms were down around 11 a.m. She slipped as the train was passing. She’d been hit. The engine screeched to a halt.

Bob Hubbard was first on the scene. His wife was on the other side of the tracks. Once the train stopped, he slipped between two train cars, hurting his knee and nose. He stayed with her as first responders from Sky Valley Fire and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office raced to the scene. She died around 9 p.m. at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Loved ones described Molly Hubbard as a kind person who went out of her way to help others. She worked as a caregiver for elderly patients, including those with dementia, and sang in the choir at Evergreen Church.

A memorial service was held May 13 at the Bush House in Index. Attendees spilled out the doors.

Her new husband is mourning the loss of a future he hoped they had together. They were still figuring out the logistics. Bob Hubbard, a longtime resident of Index, said his house was small. The Hubbards would spend a couple of nights together, then a couple of nights at a property she owned near Tulalip.

“She came to Index, found me, we started hiking again and being girlfriend and boyfriend again,” Bob Hubbard said. “I asked her to marry me and she did. We had our wedding last November. Went down to Death Valley and back. We’d been having a pretty good time. We’d only been married six months, but we’d known each other for 50 years.”

Eighteen people have been struck and killed by trains in Snohomish County since the beginning of 2018, according to the state Utilities and Transportation Commission. Trains striking pedestrians have resulted in 139 deaths in Washington over the past five years.

Molly Hubbard is the 10th person killed by train statewide this year. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office listed her cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries.

BNSF owns the tracks, but a spokesperson for the railway did not respond to a Herald reporter’s request for comment.

Molly’s daughter Janet Compton remembers her mom as always busy. She had “hundreds” of college credits, a master’s degree in mathematics and a teaching degree as well, her daughter recalled.

“Don’t tell her she can’t do anything,” Compton said. “Because it’s going to get done.”

Molly Hubbard also worked at the Pogo gold mine outside Fairbanks, Alaska, and later taught high school completion courses at a military base in the state, family said. She moved back to Michigan to care for her ailing grandfather, later returning to Alaska, then Washington.

“She was larger than life and a caregiver for many years,” said Susan Gaskin, a family friend. “This is a big shock to the community.”

On their honeymoon to California, Bob Hubbard said they stopped at “every nice place” along the Oregon coast. They saw redwood trees and the ocean, taking their time as they enjoyed being together and happy.

Bob Hubbard has other sweet memories too. There’s a relatively easy course along the Index Town Wall where his partner would hop boulder to boulder. It’s climbing, but he compared it to the difference between mini-golf and regular golf.

And he remembers bouncing on the “Heartbeat of Index,” a boulder that moves a bit if you put your weight on one side.

“It moves about an inch, but you can hear it go, ‘Buh-bump, buh-bump,’” Bob Hubbard said. “We liked to go jump on the rock and listen to the heartbeat.”

Jordan Hansen: 425-339-3046; jordan.hansen@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jordyhansen.