Firefighter
Martin McWilliams
Engine 22
Laid
to Rest
on September 18, 2001
Jack-of-All-Trades
There are men who are handy around the house, and then there
was Martin McWilliams. At age 4, he grabbed a screwdriver from
his father's toolbox -- correctly choosing a Phillips head --
and dismantled the neighbors' storm door. When he grew up, there
was no stopping him from tiling kitchens, installing new windows
and siding, or putting up wallpaper. "He could do just about
everything," said his mother, Mary, said. "He was always ready
to help." Mr. McWilliams, 35, a firefighter with Engine Company
22 on the Upper East Side, had many other talents. He knew his
way around cars and left behind several, including a 1963 Mustang,
at his mother's house in Kings Park, N.Y. He was a fine skier
and an accomplished cook, whose chicken francese was a family
favorite. But there was one skill Mr. McWilliams lacked. "He
could appreciate a joke, but he could never tell one," said
his younger sister, Lynn McWilliams. "He would always mess up
the punch line." Toward the end of Mr. McWilliams's life, he
became a father for the first time. The baby, Sara, is now six
months old. "I'm in love with her," he used to tell his family.
Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on November 8, 2001.
Irish
Tribute
Newsday
Article