A Father of Two, With a Third on the Way
October 5, 2001Gerald Atwood, 38, was born and reared in Brooklyn.

He "adored his children," said his wife, Barbara, who is pregnant with their
third child, due in March. And being a firefighter "was pretty much a
lifelong dream," she said. "He felt that was his calling."

Atwood graduated from South Shore High School and spent two years at
Kingsborough Community College. He had been a firefighter for eight years
with Ladder Co. 21 in midtown Manhattan. Earlier he ran a renovation business
with his brother.

Atwood's whereabouts when the World Trade Center collapsed "is the big
question," said his wife.

Possessed of an infectious laugh, Barbara said, "he liked simple things,
doing projects, sharing tools, helping neighbors with their houses. Or he'd
go on trips with his brothers, fishing trips." He had a wide range of
interests and a retentive memory. "He'd read the paper and know everything in
it, from politics to sports," she said.

Also surviving besides his son Gerald, 2, and daughter Margaret, 1, are his
parents, Gerald and Elaine; brothers John, Raymond and Gregory, and sisters
Jane and Elaine. --Mary Voboril (Newsday)

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