The Neighbor that Never Returned

When you live in a relatively small uptown apartment house what are the odds that one of your neighbors would lose their life in the WTC disaster? Yvonne Fitzner (Class of 1960) sadly learned how great they were.
____"One of my neighbors left for work that day and never came back. We didn't know what had happened to him, at first, until word went through the building that he was a bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald. That was the company that lost more than 700 employees. We were hoping against hope that he was not among those who didn't make it out. But days passed and soon the sad reality sank in.
____"Someone taped an American flag to his door. Flowers and candles were placed at the entrance of our building, and notes were also added -- even by the pizza place he used to order from. One note with his photo on it said 'Missing'. It was heartbreaking. He was not missing! He had died a death we could not comprehend. Each time I left the building and returned, the sight of the tribute to him would bring tears to my eyes. I cried every day I read about another firefighter's or police officer's memorial service, or funeral. I still do. It's still such an unbelievable event."
____The neighbor was 35 year old Richard Stewart. He lived in one of the building's 84 apartments. There was a memorial service for him in New Jersey in the Fall of 2002 and Richard's family named a scholarship for him at his high school. Neighbors come and go, but when they never return from a disaster like 9/11 the impact on your daily life can never completely go away.

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