Yesterday was the birthday of FDNY firefighter Thomas W. Kelly of Ladder 15. He was born on September 18, 1950, and would have been 71 years old. We will never forget the ultimate sacrifice that he made on September 11, 2001.
As a 20-year-old apprentice in the steamfitters' union, one of Thomas W. Kelly's first assignments took him to the World Trade Center. It was 1970, and what would become New York City's most prominent landmark was climbing upwards.
He was responsible for spraying asbestos to provide heat and insulation on the 40th floor of Tower 1. He wrote his initials and 638, his United Association union local, in the stairwell. Next to it, he wrote "UA forever." In September 1971, he showed this marking to his future bride when he took Kitty Murphy out on their "first big date."
Mr. Kelly completed the circle on Sept. 11, returning to the place where his career began — only this time he was on a rescue mission as a firefighter with Manhattan's Ladder Co. 15.
His younger brother, Dennis, 43, exited a Wall Street subway station moments after the first plane struck Tower 1. Already, a steady stream of debris was falling from the sky. After the second strike, he immediately made his way to his brother's firehouse. He was told by Firefighters Arthur Barry and Eric Olsen that Mr. Kelly was already on his way to the scene.
After wishing his brother's comrades "Godspeed," Dennis Kelly boarded the Staten Island Ferry, knowing his brother was in the inferno that was blazing behind him. From St. George, he ran the 1½ miles to his brother's Livingston house, where the family was already keeping a vigil.
Mr. Kelly is listed among the missing victims of the World Trade Center disaster. He was in the middle of a 24-hour tour when he responded to the devastation. Olsen and Barry, both Staten Islanders, are also missing.
"He took me to the Trade Center on our first big date," Mrs. Kelly said. "We went to the Copacabana and after the Copacabana, we took a taxi to the Trade Center."
A $20 bill convinced the security guard to let the young couple upstairs. The security guard told Mr. Kelly "to put a hard hat on your young lady." After placing a hard hat on her head, the two rode the elevator to the 40th floor and to 30 years of happiness together. They married March 2, 1974 in Holy Cross R.C. Church, Brooklyn.
Mr. Kelly joined the Fire Department in 1984.
"He had a love of saving people," Mrs. Kelly said. "He was just looking for that."
He was a member of the department's Emerald Society. "He was sarcastic, funny, he was really a very interesting person and such a caring, loving man," Mrs. Kelly said.
Mr. Kelly left a wide circle of friends, who still can not comprehend that they will never see him again.
"You grab a stool, order a beer and wonder why Tommy is not here. Then the thoughts of that dreadful day bring on feelings of sadness and dismay," wrote close friend Charlie (Buddy) Hostetter in a tribute to Mr. Kelly. "You stare blankly into space knowing you'll never forget Tommy's face."
Barbara Freda said Mr. Kelly always rooted for the underdog.
"I met him 30 years ago," she said. "He's been a very close friend to me and we'll miss him dearly."
A player on Liedy's Shore Inn softball team, Mr. Kelly was an avid collector of Brooklyn Dodgers memorabilia. He was also an expert in the kitchen and loved taking care of his four cats.
Born in Brooklyn, he moved to Livingston in 1983. He was a parishioner of St. Paul's R.C. Church, New Brighton.
In addition to his wife of 27 years, Kitty, Mr. Kelly is survived by two sons, Frank and Thomas; four brothers, William, Robert, Frank and Dennis, and a sister, Maureen Paglia.
Mr. Kelly would have celebrated his 51st birthday on Sept. 18, one week after the attack. On Sept. 25, two weeks after the attack, he would have celebrated the 30th anniversary of the day he met his wife. And tomorrow, three weeks after the attack, Mr. Kelly will be remembered by his family and friends in a memorial mass.
"To give closure to this, I wanted to do it on a Tuesday," Mrs. Kelly said. The mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. in St. Peter's R.C. Church, New Brighton. The Rev. Vincent Bartley, pastor of St. Paul's Church, will officiate.
Staten Island Advance, 2001