From NY Times Sep 22, 2001
'Answering a Daughter's Call'
Richard Prunty's world revolved around two families. There
was his family in Sayville, on Long Island, and there was
the Second Battalion of the New York City Fire Department.
Mr. Prunty, the battalion chief, would explain to his wife,
Susan, that his life depended on his firefighters. They depended
on him, too. When he received promotions, his firefighters
did not want him to move on. "It truly was a brotherhood,"
she said. Mr. Prunty was heading into 1 World Trade Center
with his firefighters, but his wife thinks he probably had
tried to call them out because he was so conscious of their
safety. At 57, he was a tall, unassuming man, never the type
to dominate a conversation or even brag. But when he did have
something to say, his soft-spoken words were usually the strongest
and most effective that could be said. Despite his sometimes
gruff exterior, his family knew he was a teddy bear. He was
protective of his two children, Lisa, 25, and Christopher,
21. His daughter recalls her father's visit when she became
so ill at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire that she couldn't
finish classes during final exams. He stayed for one week,
sleeping on the floor. "I almost didn't graduate and that
put me through it," she said. -- Anon (Friend)
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