'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. -- Anon ------- Thank you, Martin. You
are a true hero! God bless your family. Rest in God's sweet peace.
DeeAnn McWilliams Donner Manila, ARkansas
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