 Click here to bookmark this memorial. |
Fred Kelley Date of Birth: July 16, 1944 Department: Municipal Bonds Fred was two years ahead of our class @ Delta Sigma Phi, Saint Francis College in Loretto, PA. Fred was a great role model, and a campus leader. His class was filled with exceptional people. Fred Kelly stood above the rest, both as a tall man and as one great guy. God bless you Fred. YITBOS Michael Brennan SFC, 1968
|
Monthly Archives: April 2014
 Click here to bookmark this memorial. |
John Katsimatides Date of Birth: September 5, 1970 Position: Corporate Bonds Broker Born on September 5th, 1970, John was the second oldest son of the family, who had many aliases in his life: Johnny “Bodacious”, Johnny “Cash”, “Phantom”, “Mafiozo”, and “Greek”, to name a few. A tenacious, disciplined corporate bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald by day, John shed those shackles when the markets closed and, by night, reverted to the carefree, social dynamo that everyone knew him to be. John had a flare for the outrageous. He was very cool and lived utterly in technicolor. His Jet Ski and Jeep were bright yellow and his Harley was baby blue. He would light up the room with his vibrant personality. No matter what he did, whether he was cruising the Astoria Park strip, having coffee with friends or changing the oils in our cars, John did it in a bold way. John’s passion for music and dance could not be surpassed. He was the first person on and the last person off the dance floor. John walked to the beat of his own drum and always with rhythm in his step. To top it off, under all that pizzaz, was a tender, loving human being who would always lend a hand to help others.John’s lively, endearing spirit will never be forgotten.
|
 Click here to bookmark this memorial. |
Sheldon Kanter Date of Birth: July 27, 1948 Department: Back Office Systems Position: Vice President Shelly Kanter was born in Brooklyn, NY. He was always surrounded by family. His cousins lived in the same building, as did his grandparents. So, although he was an only child, he was never really aware of it. His cousin Stevie was his big brother. His cousins Carole and Allison were his close sisters. They were always close, and remained close as the years went by. Shel’s love was sports. He could be found on the weekends, either playing paddleball, or getting a group of guys together to play softball. His first job, after graduating from NYU, was at RCA. I met him there in 1971. One of they guys in his office had vacation, but was supposed to teach a programming class to some new trainees at Chase Manhattan Bank, Shel stepped in to teach the class. I got an A, and then married the teacher. No sooner was he at RCA, then he formed a softball team. Once a week, the guys in the office would meet and play other companies. Sometimes they won, sometimes not – but always it was a fun night out with the guys. Even as the company changed names – first Univac, then Unisys, then Sperry – you could always count on the ‘Bombers’ for weekly softball championships. In 1979, we moved to New Jersey and soon the family grew, with the arrival of our two sons, Evan and Adam. He couldn’t wait until they were old enough to join Dad on the field, and looked forward to now having his own team. His kids never let him down. As they grew up, they became more than Dad’s kids, but his friends. On the weekends, they’d play racquetball, tennis, or just threw a ball around. The highlight of any driving vacation was always the stop at the rest areas on the highways where a spontaneous football toss would always take place. One year we all went cross-country by car, from New Jersey to South Dakota to Las Vegas and Utah and the Grand Canyon. I thought we were going to see the sites, but the three guys had a hidden agenda. We stopped at every baseball, football stadium on the way and they managed to get tickets for the games, wherever the teams were playing. He started at Cantor Fitzgerald in 1983. He even managed to arrange softball games while at Cantor, and a few times his son, Evan, even joined in at the game. He loved the firm, it was his second family, but he loved the World Trade Center even more. He loved to brag to everyone back in New Jersey about the towers. Looking back, many of the family photographs had the towers in the background, as we would always head to the city for the fireworks, the boat rides and the city celebrations. In 1998 his oldest, Evan, joined him at the company for a summer job. He always talked about how Dad would change as he got to the office. No matter how stressful the commute, the moment he entered his office – he would become animated and would always have a joke to pass around the office. His love for his family at Cantor was apparent. The highlight of the summer for Shelly and the guys, was always the company picnic. The three of them would all look forward eagerly to the afternoon ball games. It was during those family games that the Kanter family and the Cantor family all played together as one. We know that despite the pain and sorrow of September 11, Shel is not alone. He will always be surrounded by all of his friends and family at Cantor Fitzgerald.
|
 Click here to bookmark this memorial. |
Joon Koo Kang Date of Birth: January 1, 1967 Department: eSpeed Position: Equity System Analyst I would have never imagined that I would give a eulogy at my age for someone so close. I am here to represent a family that has never thought such tremendous pain and sorrow could come our way. We have asked God many times why He did not spare our brother Joon Koo on the tragic morning of Sept. 11th. We wondered why he was not one of the twenty some odd people who got laid off that Monday from Cantor Fitzgerald or why he went into work that Tuesday when he was sick recovering from a flu. My second sister Janet and I wondered why it wasn’t one of us since we are not married yet and do not have children. Then his wife Dohee would not be without a husband nor his two children, Ariel and Diane, be fatherless. Who can understand the pain that our grandparents are experiencing through the loss of their first grandson, whom they’ve raised for seven years of his life or for our parents who’ve lost their only son who would have carried on the Kang family lineage. It is at a time like this that we would have needed our brother the most. Being the oldest child in our family, our brother took on the responsibility of disciplining us and making sure his three younger sisters, Rebecca, Janet and I were on the right track while our parents worked. When we first came to America twenty years ago, he made us memorize about 20 words a day and he actually tested us regularly. Myself, only being 9 at the time started out with the alphabet. I think I failed the first couple of tests. Once he received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and became a Christian, he took Rebecca to a church revival where she also got saved. He acted tough on the outside, but he was a deeply caring person. He was very modest as well, I never knew he had close to 800 on Math SAT or that he got into an Ivy League until someone else told me years later. He was keen on not worrying our parents; he didn’t want to burden them financially or emotionally. He couldn’t wait for the day when he would take care of our parents and grandparents to this satisfaction. He wanted to be the one to provide our dad’s dream car. He never really bought anything for himself, he always tried to put others first. For those of you who have know our brother Joon Koo know that he is not a man of many words but that his action spoke loud and clear. He had a laughter that was contagious and a heart that could not be contained. He past coworker wrote of our brother being a true gentleman and as genuine a person as he has ever met. Our brother was very responsible and hard working. He was continuously studying something whether it was for actuary, securities or a computer license. Once he started working in the eSpeed unit at Cantor Fitzgerald, he got up at 5 every morning and commuted one and a half hours to get to work by 7 am. He gave his all and he was quickly promoted to a managerial position. He enjoyed the challenges his work offered and was excited about eh system project he was working on. Our brother deeply loved God and tried to reflect Christ in his life. He was a devout man who started and ended his workday with the Lord. He named his first child Ariel, which means the heart of God and second daughter, Diane, which means divine. He wanted them to reflect God. He taught junior high school students at his church. He also led a fellowship group that increased in its size from four families to over 20 families. It is clear that God used him and is still using him for His purpose and glory. God asked for the best from our family, our pillar. He took our brother not to deprive us, but to provide the best for our brother and to bless us more. God must have known of my brother’s love for Him that He wanted our brother by his side sooner. Some of you may have read the email about the lady we met at the family tour of the World Trade Center. Kathleen had lost her 4-year-old daughter and her parents in law during the Oklahoma City bombing. She told us how she could imagine her daughter, Ashley, telling our brother “look, my mom has been made strong to help your mom now. Your mom will be made strong to help others in need later on.” We believe that God will continue to work in our lives and use us to be a blessing to others. We are also comforted by the promise that God will be “a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows.” Joon Koo oppa, we never told you that we loved you or how we looked up to you because you know such affections are more understood than said in our family. You are an inspiration to us. Part of who we are today is because of the role you played in our lives. You taught us to be responsible in all aspects of life. We are sorry that we didn’t get a chance to say goodbye but we know that that would have been only a temporary one. Thank you for living your life to the fullest. If we can only mirror the way you walked with the Lord and put others first, we would not have any regrets. And when the tears flow when we are in bed at night, we will try to remember that we will see you again soon. But for now, we will miss you very, very much.
|
 Click here to bookmark this memorial. |
Shari Ann Kandell Date of Birth: September 21, 1973 Position: Assistant, Buy-Ins and Stock Loan Department Shari Ann Kandell – September 21, 2001 Today is Shari’s birthday. We chose to have her Memorial Service on her birthday as a fitting celebration of her life. Shari and I had a wonderful relationship. We shared the loves of music, baseball, silly movies and stupid jokes. Reggie Jackson was always and still remained her favorite baseball player. We didn’t share that. Shari and I had a casual, friendly relationship in addition to the parental link. Often, when speaking to her on the phone at her office, I would make a silly, “typically Jan” bad joke or pun. Shari would comment on this, punctuating the comment with a particularly nasty epithet. Her co-workers in the office would say in the background,”Who are you talking to?” She would smile and say, “It’s just my Dad.” The overwhelming and outstanding quality that Shari showed all of her life was her total selflessness. She did for others and put others’ needs before her own well being. All of her friends know of instances where she went out of her way to do for them and take care of others instead of herself. Shari has now taken this quality of selflessness to its ultimate level. In light of this horrific event the world has experienced, Shari has helped all of us in this room to put a face on this heinous act. By all of us feeling the tragic loss of such a warm, loving person, she has reduced the breadth of the tragedy to a size that we can all more easily grasp. Shari died because she went to work on Tuesday, September 11th. It was not because she had a certain political view or was the wrong color, race or religion. She was not heroic, running into a building to save others. She just went to work. Think of the horror of this despicable act, killing thousands of innocent Sharis. You all now understand the personal tragedy of our family. Multiply that by the thousands of victims and the tragedy and horror becomes so much clearer. It is no longer just a smoky montage of video images wrapped with sentimental music. It is thousands of shattered families, missing key cornerstones, just like Shari. We stare at the rubble of the destroyed buildings and we feel the destruction of the lives like Shari’s, not just the monetary damage assessments and incomprehensible numbers of missing persons. Shari has done this for us. We will miss the sight of the World Trade Center buildings form the New York skyline. We will miss the “old” way of life that we enjoyed and took for granted before September 11th. But….most of all….we will miss the smiling, warm, loving, happy, wonderful friend, cousin, niece, granddaughter, sister and daughter that was Shari. Happy Birthday, Shari.
|
 Click here to bookmark this memorial. |
Karen S Juday Date of Birth: February 22, 1949 Department: Operations Position: Administrative Assistant Karen (Hawley) Juday moved from Elkhart, Indiana 4 years ago to be with me in New York. She left a place she had been all of her life to go to a strange city and make a new life with me. I told her she had more courage than anyone I knew when she decided to make the move. I told her I couldn’t leave my kids and parents but Karen had a different view on life. She raised her kids as best as she could, she worked hard for many years. She had many personal tragedies and she said it was now her time and wanted to enjoy life with the man she fell in love with. She started a new career as an Administrative Assistant at Cantor Fitzgerald in the World Trade Center approximately 3 years ago. She was a dedicated worker; she had a different work ethic than most of us in New York are used to. She had a job and she did it well and went beyond the call of duty to do that job well. That’s because that’s the way Karen was, she gave her all to everything she did. Karen and I did everything together; we loved life and wanted to spend it with each other. Karen loved this country and adjusted to New York very quickly. She called New York her home. She loved all the little stores in our neighborhood in Bensonhurst Brooklyn, especially the bakeries and pastry shops. She always smiled and was friendly even to the rude foreigners who have seemed to take over all the small grocery stores and newsstands. That was Karen, friendly, dedicated and honest. Then on September 11, 2001, a sunny beautiful morning, some cowards took her life away along with thousands of others. Our dreams were shattered along with many others. We had the best 4 years of our lives together and nothing can change that. I will love you forever my sweet lady. My name is Richard Pecorella and I have lost everything when I lost Karen.
|
 Click here to bookmark this memorial. |
Donald Thomas Jones II Date of Birth: November 4, 1961 Department: Municipal Bonds Position: Executive Vice President It is with a profound sense of sadness that I write this letter. On September 11th, 2001 the lives of my entire family were changed forever. My beloved brother, Donald Thomas Jones II, age 39 was lost in Building One of the World Trade Center. He was a loving husband to Michele and a devoted father to his daughter Taylor Nicole, age 5 and his son, Donald Thomas III, age 2. He was a caring son to grieving parents, Judith and Donald Jones, son-in law to Carol and Felix Ramirez and brother in law to Christopher Ramirez. He was a dear nephew to Marjorie & Edward McSpirit, Linda Zielke and Robert Sutton; tremendous cousin to Stephen McSpirit, Edward Otto Zielke, Jason Zielke & Lauren Zielke and uncle to Stephen McSpirit, II. Don was also an honored family member to The Winifred Jones Family, John & Barbara Jones; The Mees Family, The Markferding Family, Gertrude Dickison, The Bregman Family, The Red Jones Family and The Janelli Family. My brother was an Executive Vice President in the Municipal Bond Department of Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of Building One of the World Trade Center. He survived the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, and was called a hero in many New York newspapers as he calmly lead many down a darkened stairwell over 100 floors, (including a pregnant woman who was in labor) to safety. I am sure he tried to do the same for his co-workers again this time. That was the kind of man he was. He moved with his family this past March to Billingsley Drive, just around the corner from where he grew up. He was delighted that his daughter was starting Collins School in the same kindergarten classroom he attended. We will never forget the wonderful people on his street, many of whom he had yet to meet. The Hollis family, the Brenners, the Maxwells, the Place family, the Heicklens and so many more all coming in every day with food and kindness to try to bolster our spirits, while we waited. We were also supported by our wonderful friends Elaine, Donna, George and Karen Reinhardt, Sue and Ed Luigori, Dana and Gary Marshuetz. His wonderful Newark Academy friends, Jim Borkan and Mike Melillo.who have been with us every day. The Lopomos, the Bonsmas, the Cantors, the Collins School mothers the PTA and Officer Chuck Granata of the Livingston Police Department have all helped ease our suffering. Reverend Long of the Federated Church spent time with us and prayed with us at the beginning of this ordeal, when we needed his prayers. The employees of St. Barnabas Hospital helped us with their kind words and generosity. My brother’s many friends from the Northfield Townhouses in West Orange including Elaine Sugerman, the Patels and Paul and Ava Goldstein stopped by repeatedly and offered their comfort and support. Pip Printing on Route 10 in Livingston assisted me, at no cost, in preparing flyers with my brother’s picture, which I posted throughout New Y! ork during our search. Trays of food were sent from Chuck Tahaney at the Town Hall, Joe Roberts and the Town Building Department, Prudential Real Estate Associates, the employees of Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdales, Joseph Zahn, Shelly Umanoff and Gail Lowenstein of Gail Lowenstein Real Estate, Marty Writt, Frank and Shirley Goehringer and Ochs Cider Mill. Countless others stopping by with cookies, donuts or that big hug that we so desperately needed. I’m sure there are many who I can’t remember, but you know who you are and we love you for caring for us. I know we will never be able to adequately thank you. I would also like to thank my wonderful cousin Lauren Zielke, who spent days tending to my brothers’ children giving love and kindness and patience where it was needed. She was and is our rock to lean on each and every day. Finally, I would like to thank my dear friend Steve Avetzek, and my cousins, Edward Otto Zielke, Stephen McSpirit and Jason Zielke. For 2 days we searched countless sites in New York City, including hospitals and the armory to find my brother. We walked hundreds of blocks when we weren’t allowed to drive. After we ran out of places to search and came home, my cousin, Stephen, a Patrolman on the Livingston Police Department went back and spent nearly a week without rest working tirelessly with the rescue crews digging in the rubble to find his cousin. No greater gift could my brother have received than his cousin’s love and dedication. I will always remember their expressions of love for this great man, my brother. I will miss him all the days of my life. May he rest in peace. William B. Jones II Many people have asked if a donation could be made in his honor. To all of you who desire to do so, donations can be made payable to “The Jones Family”, 18 Billingsley Drive, Livingston, NJ, 07039, for the benefit of Taylor Nicole and Donald Thomas.
|
 Click here to bookmark this memorial. |
Hweidar Jian Date of Birth: February 26, 1959 Position: Senior Programmer Analyst I did not know Hweidar or any of the 9-11 victims but my prayers extend to all of them and their families. God Bless them all.
|
 Click here to bookmark this memorial. |
Paul E. Jeffers Date of Birth: November 30, 1961 Department: Partner, Repo Sales Manager Paul had passion and drive for so many things in his life but nothing compared to how he felt about being a father. His son, Brian, was Paul’s greatest joy and whether it was searching on the internet for an elusive Thomas the train engine, teaching Brian how to swim or showing him how to plant flowers in the garden, Paul’s devotion and love for his son was limitless. When I first met Paul he told me all about his beautiful son and then he proceeded to tell me about his nieces and nephews, all nine of them. He adored them all and boasted of their talents as if they were his own. He loved being part of the ‘Jeffers Team’ and was a devoted son to his parents. This was evident when we planned his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary party with his sister, Dede and brothers, Dick and Steve last summer. All spring he planned with Dick and Steve the songs they were going to jam to in the basement. We painted the house inside and out, picked the biggest dining table possible and meticulously designed 20 uniquely colored t-shirts for every member of the family. Paul also felt passionately about music, especially the Eagles and loved playing the guitar. He was a competitive tennis player and enjoyed coaching his friends and family members. He also loved to garden and work on his home in West Hampton. Most of all Paul loved long, summer days we spent together that included all of the above. At Paul’s memorial, his closest friends spoke of his commitment as a father, his dedication as a friend and the impact that he had on their lives and their families. Paul valued his friendships and like all things in his life, he invested his time and energy into them. Paul made sure to reach out to so many people on a daily basis, even if just for a minute. The void of not having him in our lives is indescribable. In the last few months, I have gotten such strength from Paul’s love and his drive for living each day to the fullest. We had such hope and plans for our life together, I will forever treasure each day that I shared with him. Paul was such a presence; it is so hard to accept that he is gone. Paul lives on in all the memories he left us of his generosity, loyalty, and humor and of just being the wonderful person that he was. We will always hold him in our hearts. I miss you terribly and will love you forever.
|
 Click here to bookmark this memorial. |
Yudh Jain Date of Birth: August 29, 1947 Department: eSpeed IT Position: Project Manager Sneh Jain (wife): There are no words to express my admiration for my husband’s great talents. He obtained his master’s degree and doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln through a merit based fellowship that brought him here from India at the age of 18. He later obtained another PhD in computer science as well. I always used to tell him his first wife was his studies, not me. But still, despite his devotion to learning, he never tired of being a good father and provider and always treated me like a queen and his daughters like princesses. He lived for his family and his work and never for himself. He never complained about late hours or his many duties at home. Often, when I was angry with him for coming home late or having neglected some minor chore, he would simply smile and wait for the storm to pass with a smile on his upper lip. He is greatly loved by his co-workers, community and friends and he has touched all he has met with his gentle and quiet calm. Always there to lend a helping hand at any time of day or night, Yudh is a generous, unselfish and wonderful man who I will cherish forever in my heart. Cheena Jain (daughter): My dad was an amazing person; he was my best friend. We shared so many memories together. He was kind, gentle and loving. All he ever wanted in life was to see his family happy. I love you and miss you, daddy. I know that whatever I do and wherever I am, you will be shining down on me. You were a great father, husband and friend. I was lucky to have had you in my life. Mona Jain (daughter): My father’s greatest dream was his family and he, my mother, my sister and I like precious jewels. He was the perfect provider and lived for nothing else but to see us smile. I owe him everything I am and everything I will be and I want nothing more than to become the dreams he had for me. I love him dearly and he will be my guardian angel forever.
|