Edward Day, 45, firefighter, 3rd degree black belt in karate
Curtis grad had learned German to communicate with in-laws
Date of Death 9/11/2001
By Frank Williams
Advance staff writer
Thursday, 10/04/2001
When
Firefighter Edward (Eddy) Day responded to the Sept. 11 attack
with Ladder Co. 11 of Manhattan's Lower East Side, his wife was
thousands of miles away, taking care of her ill father in Frankfurt,
Germany.
Although
Bridgitte Day, who's nicknamed "Gitta" by her friends
and family, quickly learned that her husband was at the World
Trade Center and was among the missing, she found herself unable
to fly home.
Finally,
after three days of negotiating for a flight with Lufthansa, Mrs.
Day made it on a flight to Montreal, Canada, where the city Fire
Department made arrangements to pick her up when she arrived on
Sept. 15 and drive her to Staten Island.
"He
was my life," said Mrs. Day.
The
next day, as the continuing search and rescue efforts failed to
find any sign of Mr. Day, his wife learned that her father had
died.
"It
was just unbelievable," said Mr. Day's brother, Tim Day.
Eddy
Day, who lived in Clifton, enjoyed traveling to Germany with his
wife to visit her family and friends and even learned how to speak
the language. "He took a little German in high school, but
actively studied it later so he could communicate with her family
and friends when they went to visit them," said his brother.
Mr.
Day had been a member of Ladder 11 since 1993. Before that, he
had been assigned to Engine Co. 28, which shares the same headquarters,
since 1989. He began his career with the Fire Department in 1988,
with Engine Co. 4, also in Manhattan.
A
lifelong Staten Islander born in Stapleton, he held a third-degree
black belt in karate and enjoyed teaching children the discipline
and respect associated with the martial art.
"He
taught very young children, 4-, 5- and 6-year-olds," said
his brother. "He always taught [that] karate was not about
kicking someone's butt — he hated when people took it like
that. For him, it was about personal peace. It was something he
did for himself."
A
graduate of Curtis High School, Mr. Day ran on the school's track
team and had been a runner ever since.
"He
ran in the New York City Marathon several times," said his
brother. "I can't remember [which one], but his first or
second marathon, he had someone meet him in Central Park and changed
shirts. It said 'I Love You Gitta' in German — and she was
there at the finish line waiting for him and saw it. That was
the kind of person he was."
His
love of the outdoors and nature held a large place in his heart.
This love extended toward the varied pets he and his wife cared
for in their home: A dog, several cats, three snakes and a rabbit.
Mr.
Day and his wife of 20 years always vacationed with friends —
at least one week per year — at a lake in the Adirondack
Mountains in upstate New York. "His eyes would light up when
he talked about vacationing at Peck's Lake," said his longtime
friend, Margaret Duffy-Shanley.
Mr.
Day was an avid golfer and was very proud of learning how to swim
at the age of 40.
He
had an appetite for learning new things, said his brother. If
a topic interested him, he would simply read a book on the subject
and then do it. He enjoyed troubleshooting computers, rebuilding
his garage, adding a deck and building a new roof for the house.
Mr.
Day, who attended the former Staten Island Community College in
Sunnyside, also was a self-taught automobile and motorcycle mechanic.
Known
for his love of fun and friends, Mr. Day enjoyed relaxing with
the occasional beer and schnapps.
"He
was always the life of the party, usually laughing the hardest
at his own jokes," said his mother, Grace Day.
In
addition to his mother, his wife, the former Bridgitte Milch,
and his brother, Tim, also surviving are his father, Edward; his
brother, Bill, and his sister, Liz Mindlin.
There
will be a memorial service on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Music
Hall at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Livingston.
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