I am honored to be a part of his project again. Please be sure to visit Project 2,996 to read about so many others that lost their lives on September 11, 2001.
Stacey S. McGowan
Stacey S. McGowan, 28, from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, was a managing director for Sandler o’Neill Partners, lost her life on September 11, 2001.
The New York Times said:
Stacey S. McGowan was known for her hugs -- just part of a comfortable feeling she engendered that a friend chose to call "Staciness."
"Hers was a hug that would essentially render every other hug you'll ever receive in your life a complete insult to hugging," said the friend, Patrick Corry, in a eulogy.
Tom McGowan, her husband, elaborated from their home in Basking Ridge, N.J.: "She made those around her feel better about themselves and the life they're in, just through the enjoyment of them, you know?"
Stacey Sennas McGowan, 38, a managing director for Sandler O'Neill Partners, was president of her class each year at Nyack High School and played for its varsity lacrosse team and later, for Boston College.
It was at college that Tom McGowan, now an executive in foreign exchange marketing for Reuters, first saw her and fell in love. They were married nearly 10 years ago and had two daughters, Ryan, 5, and Casey, 4. "She had no pretensions and she loved life every day," he said. "She was just warm and giving and happy and funny, proud, strong and graceful. I never met a saint, but this girl certainly was a saint."
The Westchester Journal News Oct 29 printed:
Stacey Ann Sennas McGowan was remembered yesterday for her friendliness toward all, her love of life and the fun it offered.
The 38-year-old mother of two daughters B Kelly, 5, and Casey, 4 B was among more than 6,000 people missing and presumed dead following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. McGowan worked as managing director of Sandler O'Neill and Partners on the 104th floor of Tower 2.
Yesterday more than 1,000 friends and family gathered at Grace Episcopal Church in Nyack to remember their Stacey and to comfort themselves with a touch or quiet exchange.
A photo of a smiling, dark-haired Stacey McGowan dressed in blue faced the congregation under the glow of a burning candle. A simple bouquet of pink roses filled a white basket below.
In a front pew stood McGowan's parents, Semo and Fran Sennas, her brother, Christopher, and husband, Tom McGowan.
Stacey McGowan, a former Upper Grandview resident living in Basking Ridge, N.J., at the time of her death, was memorialized by her mother with a poem she wrote.
"With Tom, Ryan and Casey to love and to cherish," Fran Sennas read, "there's a part of you, Stacey, that will never perish. Each night we'll look up, we'll see a bright star, and know that you, Stacey, shine down from afar."
Although much of the hourlong service was somber, Patrick Corey, a longtime friend of McGowan's, provided a bit of relief in the eulogy.
"Martha Stewart couldn't carry her spatula," Corey said in recalling his lost friend's culinary skills, then her joy of travel, backgammon and cribbage.
"She wanted to hear laughter," Corey said. "She wanted everyone having more fun than they ever had in their lives. ... Stacey didn't regret anything. She celebrated everything. So practice some Staciness. ... We'll carry the wonderful blessing of Stacey for the rest of our lives."
The Rev. Richard Gressel, rector of the church, reminded the gathering of those first days of school when their children leave home alone, and how wonderful it is when they return.
"On the 11th of September the doorway swung open in heaven," Gressel said, "and Stacey walked in and said, 'I'm home.' She would not have chosen this way. ... Nevertheless, the Lord was there to say, 'Welcome home, welcome home.' "
-- Irish Tribute (Friend)
We remember you today Stacey. The world sorely misses your embrace.
Additional memorials:
http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=8723078710414
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/memorial/people/3036.html
http://www.libertyunites.tv/tribute_v3246-world+trade+center+stacey+s+mcgowan.html
http://terroristattack.com/messages.php?id=1913
http://www.legacy.com/Sept11/Story.aspx?PersonID=132238
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