Five 9/11 victims, dozens of first responders had local connections

| 14 Sep 2017 | 01:18

JEREMY GLICK, 31, a judo expert, is believed to have been one of the people who were responsible for bringing down Flight 93 which crashed in Pennsylvania. It was believed the hijacked plane was heading for a Washington DC target just after two other planes crashed into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. His wife Lyzbeth told the 400 people at a Catskill Mountain ceremony to remember him that his last words on a cell phone call from the plane before he and the others went into action were, “Lyz, I need you to be happy.” She said she took comfort in those words and knows he was “so incredibly brave.”

REV. MYCHAL JUDGE was a former pastor at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in the Echo Lake section of the township. He was stationed at St. Francis Friary on 31st St., New York, across the street from a firehouse, since 1986. He served as chaplain of the New York Fire Department. At his funeral the church was filled with priests, firefighters and people from many walks of life who had been moved by the popular priest. Among the hundreds of people present, were former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton who spoke of how proud Father Mychal was to be chaplain for the fire department. She said his personality lit up the White House like he did everything else and the love he gave will never be forgotten.

T.J. HARGRAVE, 38, grew up on Germantown Road in the Echo Lake section of West Milford, one of seven children in his family. As a child he appeared in commercials, TV movies and the soap opera “The Guiding Light. He loved to read, write and was a champion high school wrestler and soccer coach. He was a vice president of one of the biggest bond trading houses on Wall Street – Cantor Fitzgerald – when he was killed by the terrorists. He and his wife’s three daughters Corrine, Casey and Amy were age 8, 6 and 4 when he died. They were living in Readington. He spent his last evening taking care of his children while his wife Patricia – who he had known since sixth grade – was at a meeting about town schools.

JEAN C. DEPALMA, 42, of Newfoundland, grew up in Woodridge, the oldest of five children. She was a certified public accountant and a vice president at Marsh and McLennan with an office of the 100th floor of the World Trade Center. At St. Joseph Parish she was finance chair for the church and school. A single parent, she was dedicated to making a good life for her children, 17-year-old Drew and 16-year-old Jamie.

MICHAEL ZINZI, 37, of Newfoundland, left on his usual commute to One World Center, New York City, that day and was never heard from again. He was a certified public accountant at Marsh & McLennan. He and his wife Dyan became parents of a son just nine weeks earlier. That fateful day Zinzi did the same thing he did every morning- held and admired his son and went off to his job. Dyan heard about the first plane flying into Tower One and tried to phone her husband’s office but as unable to reach him. She left a hysterical warning on his answering machine to get out of there. Mike and Dyan Zinzi were bikers and participated in the Elvis Run charity motorcycle event, riding from Parsippany to Newark, just two days before the World Trade Center tragedy. He had taught Dyan to ride and bought her a Harley-Davidson motorcycle a couple of years ago. They first met at a fitness center.

The West Milford Fire Department members who responded to Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2001 were:
Michael Woch, Office of Emergency Management Coordinator, USAR TEAM FT1 Scott DeGiralomo, William Dixon, Scott Corter, Robert DeGroat, Tom Steines III, Steve Mann, Kevin Drake, Liam Glinane, Dave LeMay, Frank Tropana, Jim Lindstrom, Ken Kloz, Albert Woch, Kevin Ryan, Keith Van Dunk, Martin Perrone, John Kennedy, Robert Lobbregt, Richard Bathman, Robert Haftek, Keith Everson, Nick DiAmbrosio, Paul Reilly, Michael Laky.

EMS Responders to Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2001 were:
WEST MILFORD FIRST AID SQUAD
Lisa Alber, Jill Brickman, Jack Cronen, Joanne Crouthamel, Sandra Meyers, Tim Ligus, Nancy Smalletz, Ed Steines, Henry Von See, Ted Wolf, Bob Woodier, Jeff Abdallah, Carole Beck, Robin Bordeau, Dina D’Argenio, Don DeVries, Stan Hankinson, Tob Jirouschek, Art Potterton, Dawn Quigley, Joe Smolinski, Cookie Tancredi, Pam Tietz, Mike Turner, Marlon Wilding, Bev Lujbli, Judy Henry.
UPPER GREENWOOD LAKE FIRST AID SQUAD
Michael Belgie, Sue Bentley, Sandy Carlo, Casey Casbarro, Ellen Danizik, Dennis DeBalfo, Julie DeBalfo, Tim Fedyshyn, Joanne Jordan, Ericka Joy.