A Beacon of Winthrop Strength Across the Country

By Michael Coughlin Jr.

 Whether it is serving the public through his work as a transit operator or the strength he has shown in two bouts with cancer, Winthrop native Mike Delia is a source of inspiration for knocking the curveballs life throws at you right out of the park.

Delia, a self-described “Winthrop Viking through and through to heart,” has been around transit operation since he was a child. At age five, Delia would go to work with his father, a 20-plus-year veteran in the bus driving business.

“I loved riding the bus with him and so, of course, going around town, out to Deer Island and back,” said Delia.

This set the stage for Delia to get his first real taste as a transit operator. When he was able to get his commercial driver’s license, he started driving buses part-time in Winthrop for Paul Revere Transportation.

“I got to know a lot of regular passengers, people from the town [Winthrop], and of course, lived in the town, so even to this day, I hold that near and dear,” said Delia.

Although his start driving buses part-time was a passion that would only continue to grow, Delia also had his share of passion in another area of expertise – communications. Along with being involved in Winthrop Community Access Television, he also worked for WGBH for a few years right out of college.

As time passed, these two career paths, transit operation, and communications were on a collision course.

“My career was kind of at a crossroads. I had been a transit operator at the time – it had been about 10 years – and I also had this college background. So my crossroads was like, what area do I really want to pursue,” said Delia.

Eventually, as Delia put it, “Public service ultimately won out.” The decision to fully pursue transit operation led Delia to where he resides now, California, in the San Francisco area, where he has worked for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) since 2014.

As a transit operator for SFMTA, Delia was able to operate many different modes of transportation. He has driven buses, trolleybuses, streetcars, the metro, which he likened to the MBTA’s green line, and even the historic cable cars.

“As someone who is a history buff and also appreciates especially the older, we’ll say heritage or vintage equipment – once I had the opportunity to operate that stuff, I mean, I was really happy,” said Delia.

While he thoroughly enjoyed operating historic equipment, the different types of vehicles Delia drove also allowed him to get to know and build relationships with people across the areas he served.

“I was really afforded the chance to get to know all these people, and I think in some ways it opened my perspective a little bit as if to say don’t judge a book by its cover to use an old saying,” said Delia.

“Everyone is a human being; everyone has a sense of purpose.”

As Delia was doing what he loved, life began throwing those curveballs. In 2019 Delia was diagnosed with testicular cancer that he battled and eventually beat. However, cancer reared its ugly head once again.

During October of 2021, Delia was not feeling well and, upon a visit with his oncologist, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. That diagnosis sent him to the hospital, where he did not leave for 30 days.

“My life pretty much changed overnight,” said Delia. He detailed a horrifying first week in the hospital, saying, “They thought I could die in that first week.”

Pretty much immediately, Delia began chemotherapy treatment that involved him going into the hospital for 30 days at a time for treatment and then returning home for 30 days to recover.

While this process obviously took a toll on Delia physically, it also had significant ramifications on his mental health as his treatment affected his immune system making it impossible to do what he had done for so long as a transit operator – interact with others.

“My complete social network was like erased in one day,” said Delia.

As Delia continued to fight through some of his darkest days, an unsuspecting outlet allowed him to revitalize his socialization – baseball cards.

During his time as an operator, Delia created baseball cards with photos of him and his frequently known nickname, “Mr. Boston,” – which he got for his accent and personality – and passed them out to passengers and visitors.

“The baseball cards ultimately proved as an outlet or opportunity for me to update my friends and family and people I couldn’t see regularly,” said Delia.

“I would put a little information on the back. I would be like, Mike is recovering, and this is where he’s at, and so I was kind of in the dark for six months, and then I started doing the cards again, and that was the beginning of my reemergence.”

Eventually, as Delia stayed strong and never gave up, he got a life-saving bone marrow transplant last April. Currently, Delia is still going through some less-invasive treatments and, as he described, is “teetering in and out of remission.”

Although Delia is still battling, that is not stopping him from working in other aspects of his life. Delia is advocating for patients going through similar experiences in fighting cancer.

“There’s plenty of people out there who don’t have the support system, that don’t have the encouragement, that don’t have the hope to stay alive, and the one thing I can tell people is don’t ever give up,” said Delia.

“As bad as things may seem, you have to fight. If you don’t fight cancer is going to win.”

Not only is Delia advocating for those who need help in their battles with cancer, but he has also returned to work at SFMTA. Due to his illness, his return to work is not as an operator but in a new role as a Public Relations Assistant under the Chief of Staff’s office.

The position will allow Delia to harken back to his days of work in the communications field and serve as a Public Relations liaison for SFMTA, something he is excited about.

Delia has been a true superstar for SFMTA since he started there, as he even won the San Francisco Transit Riders 2022 Operator Of The Year award – a year he was not even driving due to his illness – for his tremendous work over the years.

“To know that it was totally organic, a group of people thought of me and nominated me. I mean, I will cherish that award to the day I die,” said Delia.

As Delia continues his battle and drives on new career avenues, he cannot say enough about the support he received from everyone during his fight, including his family and friends, especially those from Winthrop.

An emotional Delia said, “I can’t tell you how much overwhelming support came out of Winthrop just helping me through this.”

“A special recognition goes out to the Winthrop community, especially Winthrop Vikings teachers and athletics, and numerous families, especially the Houghton, Schlicting, Gaglione, Furlong, Passaro, Polo, Fucillo, Crossman, Smith, Petruccelli, Quinn, and Winthrop Community Access Television, as well as countless other town supporters who reached out during my time of need.”