Ten days from now marks twenty-five years since September 11, 2001. A quarter century has passed since that terrible Tuesday morning. It is the duty of the living to remember those killed that day. It is the duty of the living to make sure that the stories of their lives continue to echo through the years. It is the duty of the living to ensure that those who were murdered that day are never forgotten.
Joseph G. Leavey, forty-five years old, grew up in the Inwood section of Manhattan. He attended high school at Lew Alcindor's Alma Mater, Power Memorial Academy, where he was the class valedictorian in 1973. After high school, he earned his degree from Manhattan College's School of Engineering and after graduation in 1977, he pursued a career in civil engineering.
As a child, he had aspired to become a member of the FDNY. In 1982, he realized his childhood dream. He was initially assigned to Engine 23 and then Ladder 4 in Midtown Manhattan. In February 1998, he was promoted to Lieutenant. Lt. Leavey then was assigned to Ladder 15 in Lower Manhattan. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, he was among the first members of the FDNY to respond to the World Trade Center. He died there rescuing innocents.
Lt. Leavey lived in Pelham, New York, with his wife, Carole, and the couple's two children, Brian and Caitlin, who were sixteen and ten respectively at the time of his death. His stepdaughter, Kerri, who was twenty-six at the time of his death, lived in Manhattan. Kerri had gotten married on September 9, 2000. Lt. Leavey proudly performed the role of giving her away.
Forever forty-five. Forever loved. Forever remembered.
-AK
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