Firefighter
Terence McShane
Ladder 101
Laid
to Rest
on November 17, 2001
The
Friend Collector
The life of Terence McShane, so full and so brief, could be
measured by his friendships. There were the buddies from Sts.
Cyril and Methodius parish, St. Anthony's High School, lifeguarding,
Siena College, rugby, his decade as a New York police officer,
and the two years he spent as a city firefighter. "Terence was
still friendly with guys he went to nursery school with," said
his older brother, Kieran. "He'd bump into someone and start
talking, and I'd say, `Who was that?' " "Some girl I went to
third grade with," he would answer. What drew people to him?
Maybe it was the way he had mastered the art of drawing the
best from small moments. Take one of his approaches to fatherhood:
pushing a kids-packed stroller while in-line skating. Shirtless.
Along Montauk Highway. Mr. McShane, 37; his wife, Cathy; and
their three children – the oldest of whom is 7 – had been living
at a relative's house while their home in West Islip, on Long
Island, underwent a wholesale renovation. And when he disappeared
in the firestorm of Sept. 11, the Buddies of McShane banded
together to finish the job. Cathy McShane was back at the house
a couple of weeks ago, preparing it for her family's first night
there in months, when four men in uniform appeared at the door
with the awful but welcome news: they had found her beloved
Terence's remains. "I told everyone all along that I didn't
want to come back to the house without him," she said. "And
in a way, I didn't." Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES
on November 16, 2001.
Irish
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Newsday
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Scrum.com
Terry
McShane Memorial Page
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