Lives
Remembered
David
DeRubbio, 38, firefighter followed 3 brothers into FDNY
Devoted Rangers fan was known for his pranks, loved to make people
laugh
Date of Death 9/11/2001
By Diane O'donnell
Advance staff writer
Monday, 11/05/2001
David
DeRubbio loved to make people laugh, whether it was by pulling
a prank on someone else or at his own expense. His family and
fellow firefighters could always count on his sense of humor to
lighten the heaviest load.
The
38-year-old firefighter's comic charm last came into play during
a family gathering at his mother's house. While family members
tried to watch television, Mr. DeRubbio broke into an impromptu
impersonation of a lounge singer, as he straddled a stool in the
middle of the living room and belted out a rendition of "Mack
the Knife."
"It
was so stupid, but it was so funny," said his sister, Angela
Tiberi. "Out of nowhere he comes out with these things.
"His
bright blue eyes were so full of life and his smile irreplaceable,"
she added.
"He
was the funniest person I ever met," said his wife, the former
Lorraine Holzman. "He made me laugh more than anyone. He
was always joking around." In addition to his humor, Mr.
DeRubbio will be remembered as a devoted Rangers fan who proudly
wore the hockey team's logo on his fire helmet.
But
his 12-year-old daughter, Jessica, is an avid Islander fan, making
for some memorable good-natured clashes between father and daughter.
Mrs.
DeRubbio warmly recalled that her husband would "suffer"
through an Islander game with Jessica so that he, in turn, could
take her to a Rangers game to see a "real team" play.
His
love of hockey was not confined to being a spectator: Mr. DeRubbio
also enjoyed hitting the ice with his fire lieutenant, Dan Nelson,
at a rink in Long Island, and was a former member of a hockey
league based in the Staten Island War Memorial Rink at Clove Lakes
Park.
He
was also known as a man who wouldn't hesitate to help someone
in need. And that selfless nature prevailed the day the World
Trade Center was attacked by two hijacked airplanes.
On
Sept. 11, Mr. DeRubbio kissed his wife goodbye at 7 a.m. as he
left home to begin his 12-hour shift with Engine Co. 226, in the
Boerum Hill section of Brooklyn.
"See
you later," were the last words he would ever say to her.
Mr. DeRubbio's unit would cross the Brooklyn Bridge at about 9
a.m. that morning, with a full view of the horror they were about
to face at the Twin Towers.
At
9:30 a.m. Mrs. DeRubbio received an anguished phone call from
her mother, telling her to turn on the television to see the unfolding
news of the attack. Immediately, Mrs. DeRubbio called her husband,
but was told his unit had already been dispatched to the disaster.
It
wasn't until later that afternoon that Mrs. DeRubbio learned her
husband had gone into the towers. Mr. DeRubbio and three other
members of his unit are among the missing.
Mr.
DeRubbio had always wanted to follow in the footsteps of his three
firefighter brothers: Dominick, of the 22nd Battalion, West Brighton;
Anthony, of Engine Co. 235, Brooklyn; and Robert, of Engine Co.
248, Brooklyn. On Aug. 12, 1998, he realized this ambition when
he graduated from the Fire Academy and was assigned to Engine
226, the same company he would return to two years later.
As
part of the Fire Department's rotational training program, Mr.
DeRubbio was first assigned to Ladder Co. 20 in Manhattan, then
Engine Co. 290 in Brooklyn, before returning to Engine 226.
"He
was a great guy to work with and fun to be around," recalled
Mike Mason, a firefighter with Engine 226 who worked with Mr.
DeRubbio as a "probie." After their rotation period
was over, they were reunited.
Mr.
Mason humorously remembered that when he first returned to the
company he accidentally injured his ankle while exiting the fire
rig. The unit transported Mr. Mason to a local hospital and Mr.
DeRubbio carried his red-faced friend into the emergency room,
laughing all the while at his predicament. When Mr. Mason was
turned away, Mr. DeRubbio lifted his injured friend up again and
brought him to another hospital.
In
his leisure time, Mr. DeRubbio enjoyed reading from his collection
of Mad magazines and listening to heavy metal music, especially
Ozzy Osbourne. And when he wasn't rooting for the Rangers, Yankees
or his favorite NASCAR race driver, Bill Elliot, Mr. DeRubbio
could be found tinkering around with his car or helping a neighbor.
"He
would do anything for anybody," said Mrs. DeRubbio. "He
was always fixing everybody's cars."
Mrs.
DeRubbio was introduced to her husband through a high school friend
when she was 16 years old. They began dating five years later
in June 1988 and were married in February 1989.
Mr.
DeRubbio's daughter was the recipient of a Knicks ticket that
enabled her to have a courtside seat next to Spike Lee at Madison
Square Garden on Oct. 30. The ticket was donated by Lee as part
of an online auction, which raised more than $101,000 in bids
from an anonymous businessman who asked that it be given to a
child of a firefighter. The money was donated to the Fire Department's
Widows and Children's Fund.
Born
in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn, Mr. DeRubbio moved to
Sunnyside in 1987. He returned to Brooklyn the following year,
living in Dyker Heights before settling in Bensonhurst in 1997.
Prior
to joining the Fire Department, he worked as a driver for a food
delivery service and for United Parcel Service.
In
addition to his wife, Lorraine, his daughter, Jessica, his sister,
Angela Tiberi, and his brothers, Dominick, Anthony and Robert,
surviving are another brother, Albert; his parents, Albert and
Marion DeRubbio, and another sister, Mary Lee Ianno.
There
will be a memorial mass Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Agatha's R.C.
Church, Brooklyn.
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