Joseph A. LaFalce died on September 11, 2001. He worked on the 101st floor of Tower One for Cantor Fitzgerald (which lost all its employees). He was fifty-four years old. Joe’s brother, Dominick, remembers Joe:

Joe was a very quiet mild mannered human being. He was a dedicated worker, hard working and always eager to learn something new. He spent all of his working life on Wall Street working for Kidder Peabody for over twenty years. He loved the work and loved the people he worked with. He was the type of guy you could rely on for any help that was needed.

I can still remember that little boy that I tried to protect when we were little. It’s hard to comprehend this turn of fate that was handed him he deserved much more.

Joe was the last member of my immediate family there are no other siblings. All I have now is some good memories of the time we spent together as children and as adults. He will be in my heart forever.

Rest in Peace Joe, Mom and Dad are waiting for you.
Dominick LaFalce (Brooklyn, NY )

And in another memorium tribute, on January 9, 2002, Dominick wrote and thank you note to a woman named Bernice who created an afghan blanket in Joe’s honor. It tells a little bit about who Joseph LaFalce was:

Thanks so much for the lovely afghan comforter you sent me. On September 11th my brother Joseph was an employee of Cantor Fitzgerald. As a result of the tragedy that ensued, that company had all of its workers killed that day. As of this date I have not gotten any remains of my brother and therefore have nothing to bury or seek closure from. I had a memorial service for him on December 1st at our local parish church. As difficult as it was, I tried my best to eulogize him. It seems so strange not to have a body to bury. I can only hope that something turns up to end this nightmare but somehow I think not, he worked on the 101st floor of Tower Number One and the prospects look gloomy.

This coming Spring, I plan to have his name inscribed on the headstone of the family grave in the Bronx, that is the least I can do. At least the world will know that he existed. He was only 54 years old. I am his older brother and I guess it’s up to me to carry on since both our parents are gone and there are no other siblings. He was the last of our family and will be missed greatly.

Please thank the ladies who did the squares and thank you for your lovely letter I will treasure this the rest of my life. You can imagine my surprise when the mailman delivered your gift. It lifted my spirits and I know Joe would have loved it too.

God Bless You.

Best wishes,
Dominick LaFalce

The Legacy.com website has a brief article on Joe.

Joseph A. LaFalce, 54, lived a life of simple routines. He prided himself on being on time for work. He could talk endlessly about college basketball. He enjoyed a drink at pubs like the Killarney Rose, not far from the World Trade Center, where he helped the brokers at Cantor Fitzgerald settle their accounts at the end of the day. “He was one of those guys, and there are thousands of them in New York, that make the city work,” said Ted Outwater, who struck up a friendship with him years ago when Mr. LaFalce admired his aging dog.

A native Manhattanite, Mr. LaFalce came to love thoroughbred racing: both the personalities involved and the art of figuring out a horse’s chances in a particular race. “He could tell you when the horse was born, when he died, how fast he ran,” said his brother, Dominick. “He could tell you who won the Preakness 20 years ago.”

Once, Mr. LaFalce came close to snaring his dream job, with The Daily Racing Form. “But there was a hiring freeze,” said Noel McPartland, the bartender upstairs at the Killarney Rose, where Mr. LaFalce used to order a rye and ginger ale and respond to jokes and stories with: “Give me a break! I’m tired!”

Now his friends are trying to organize a horse race at Belmont or Aqueduct in his memory. “We’d probably call it the Joe LaFalce Handicap or the Middle Move Handicap,” Mr. McPartland said. “That was his big thing — if the horse made a good move in the middle of the race.”

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on January 22, 2002.

There was a Belmont race in Joe’s honor held on May 22, 2002.

Joe: I never knew you, and I’ve not been able to find out too much about you online. But from what I have read, I suspect I would have greatly enjoyed having a conversation with you while we had a beer some evening. It’s obvious your brother is very proud of you and misses you terribly. I hope you’re in a better place now than the hell you lived five years ago. R.I.P.

Feel free to post a comment in Joe’s memory over at his Legacy guest book.

SEPTEMBER 11th
Please read other memorials compiled here. (since “sticky” doesn’t work for me, I’ll try to keep changing the timestamp as I post other entries to keep this entry on top until the 12th.)

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