Westchester
Journal News:
From the Westchester Journal News
They
came by the hundreds yesterday, seeking solace by the shores of
the Hudson River. Some looked off into the
distance with eyes red and swollen from crying. Others just stared
at the ground from behind dark sunglasses. The sun shone brightly
on St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in Piermont, and
the air was warm. But the hearts of Dennis P. McHugh's friends,
family and colleagues appeared heavy as they remembered the father
of three from Sparkill, one of the hundreds of New York City firefighters
missing since responding to the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the
World Trade Center. "We just want to say, 'So long, buddy,' "
said Dermid Kelly, who helped deliver the eulogy for the friend
he had known since second grade. "We'll always love you, and we'll
miss you. Take care, buddy." Kelly remembered meeting McHugh in
the second grade and watching as the new kid in class headed straight
for the fireman's pole on the school playground. A transplant
from the Bronx, McHugh played the tough kid, Kelly recalled, and
slid down the pole head first. "Obviously, my next stop with Dennis
was to Mrs. Grace, the school nurse," Kelly recalled. Michael
McHugh spoke of a brother with a goofy grin and a sharp sense
of humor who often made himself the punch line of jokes B and
someone who was more than a sibling. "He was an older brother
by birth, but he was a great friend by choice," Michael McHugh
said of his brother, who abandoned a career in finance to pursue
his calling as a firefighter. Another McHugh brother, Tom, is
a fire marshal with the New York Fire Department. Dennis McHugh
always knew the right thing to say and was always available to
lend a sympathetic ear in times of distress, his brother Michael
said. "It's ironic," he said, "but it's times like these when
we need Dennis the most." Dressed in sharp blue uniforms and assembled
in seemingly endless rows, firefighters lined up in front of St.
John's on Piermont Avenue shortly after 11 a.m. yesterday. A drummer
and bagpiper from the FDNY Emerald Society's Pipe and Drum band
led a somber procession to the church's front door. "Amazing Grace"
filled the air as McHugh's family filed into the church. Bagpipes
gave way to an organ and hymns, and the words of St. John's pastor,
Monsignor John Mulligan. "This is a celebration of life," Mulligan
told the standing-room-only crowd, as well as many others standing
outside and listening to the service on a public address system,
"Dennis' life with his friends and family, his parish and community
and the Fire Department. And his new life that he now shares with
the Lord."
Back
to Dennis' Home Page
