Firefighter Joseph Henry
Ladder 21
Memorial
Service was held
on October 5, 2001
Celebrating Youth
Joseph
Patrick Henry never played professional baseball, but there
were plenty of people who thought he did. And some of them have
his autograph. By all accounts, Mr. Henry, a firefighter, who
at 25, had worked only 11 months for the department, bore a
striking resemblance to the pitcher David Cone. So much so that
often people would whisper "Is that David Cone?" and ask for
his autograph. A fervent baseball player and Yankee fan, Mr.
Henry could not help but oblige a few of those requests, said
his mother, Alice Henry. When his mother was cooking dinner,
Mr. Henry would go out onto the terrace and shout, "Mom's cooking
my favorite stew!" so loudly that Mrs. Henry would jokingly
threaten to call the police. (This continued even after he moved
into his own apartment in the same building, in Bensonhurst,
Brooklyn, his mother said.) One of six children in a family
of many firefighters ‹ his grandfather, father, uncle and two
brothers ‹ Mr. Henry could be the frivolous one. "He was usually
the first to arrive at a party and the last one to leave," said
his longtime girlfriend, Julia Corrales. "He always said, 'We're
young, we should enjoy these days.' " Profile published in THE
NEW YORK TIMES on October 23, 2001.
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