Michael P. O'Brien: 9-11-2001

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"Did you hear about Cantor Fitzgerald?"

In the days after 9-11, how many times that question was whispered. All lost.

One of those lost was Michael P. O'Brien.

The day before was a good day for the O'Briens. An 18th wedding anniversary for Michael and his wife Rachel. The next morning at work, he called her to say the building had been hit, and they were trying to evacuate.

He was a meticulous man, good at his job. But what he's remembered for is his sense of humor and how much he enjoyed being with his family. He took time to create wonderful memories for his children.

"The look in his eyes when he saw his children summed up everything," said his sister Bridget. "He raised the bar on fatherhood."

From Newsday:

In June, just months before he was lost in the attack on the World Trade Center, Michael O'Brien took a trip to Las Vegas. Along with two other couples, O'Brien and his wife, Rachel, wanted to renew their wedding vows. Elvis, or at least an imitator of him, they decided, would officiate.

"He was always good at making me laugh," his wife said. "Even if we were fighting."

O'Brien, of Cedar Knoll, N.J., had been at Cantor Fitzgerald for one year working as a senior vice president of the municipal bond desk. From his 104th floor office in Tower One, the 42-year-old built a solid reputation in a practical career, but, at home, it was his sense of humor that was valued most.

From the moment he met her as a student at SUNY Oswego in 1978, O'Brien wooed his future wife with his practical jokes. Once during college, when she was visiting his family in upstate New York, O'Brien brought her a bottle of aspirin to cure her headache. He told her the tablets were chewable. They weren't.

"He was always the life of the party. He was a great guy," his wife said.

Since the time he was a young Boy Scout in New Hartford, Conn., O'Brien loved to go camping. He used to ride his bike from Utica to Long Island with a tent tied to his bicycle so he could spend two nights sleeping under the stars.

Later, as a father, he took at least two camping trips a year - one with the entire family and the other with the couple's three children, Derek, 14, Sarah, 12, and Kevin, 7. O'Brien also coached his children's soccer teams.

At his memorial service on Sept. 18, family and friends described O'Brien as honest, generous and fun-loving. More than 900 people filled the church to say goodbye to the man who always gave them a reason to smile.

For those of you who haven't seen it, have a look at an amazing living tribute to all the victims of 9-11.

Posted by floridacracker at September 11, 2006 01:35 AM