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United By Grief
Wednesday
October 24, 2001
Annie McCarthy and her sister-in-law Mary-Jean McCarthy O’Leary have a lot in common. They married two friends from way back. Now Annie has a gorgeous baby smiling up at her each day and so does Mary-Jean. Mary-Jean has a beautiful home in Stony Point, New York, just five minutes away from Annie’s. But these women have something tragic in common too.
Annie and Mary-Jean both lost their husbands in the World Trade Center disaster.
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Mary-Jean says, “We have two children. They still need to be happy and play, and when you don't want to, you need to smile and go on.”
Mary-Jean's husband Gerry, 33, was a chef. He worked in the corporate dining room of a financial firm on the 101st floor of one tower. Annie's husband Rob - Mary-Jean’s brother - was a 34-year-old bond trader for the same company, working three floors above his buddy Gerry. They worked together, did gardening together, and barbecued together.
At 5 a.m. September 11th, Gerry kissed Mary-Jean goodbye and left for work. Four hours later, right after the first plane hit, Annie got a call from Rob. Annie says, “Rob just said, ‘Call my sister. There was an explosion in the building. I think it was on Gerry’s floor. I think Gerry’s dead.”
Mary-Jean says, “Rob then called my mother, and mom said, ‘Just try to get out, Rob.’ And he said he didn't think there were any stairs underneath him."
That was the last anyone heard.
Rob's body was recovered from the rubble six days later. Gerry's was found four days after that.
Gerry's son Mike turned one a couple of weeks after the disaster. His mom had to cancel his birthday party. Rob's son Shane was just two weeks old when his dad died.
Annie says, “The toughest part has been just looking at my son, feeling so bad for him that he's not going to know his dad.”
But Annie and Mary-Jean say they do get consolation from their sons, and from each other. They know just what they're going to tell the little boys about their fathers.
Annie says, “I'm just going to tell him he was wonderful and that he loved him so much.”
Mary-Jean says, “I'm going to tell Michael that his father loved him so much, and that he wanted to be a part of his life forever.”
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Gerald
Thomas O'Leary Memorial Fund
PMB # 966
222 Route 9W
Haverstraw, NY 10927
Robert
G. McCarthy Memorial Fund
PMB # 871
222 Route 9W
Haverstraw, NY 10927
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