John J. Giordano was the quiet guy in the back who didn't say much, but had a strong presence, felt in his family and his community. A love of music and environmental studies were in his life that was devoted to his wife and children.
The 47-year-old Newburgh, N.Y., resident and Staten Island native was writing his master's thesis in environmental science at Bard College. It was an interest that had motivated him to transfer to the Haz Mat (Hazardous Material) 1 Special Operations Battalion, Engine 37 Battalion II, 3rd Division.
"He enjoyed the science behind the job, analyzing so you knew the material to use to fight the fire before you got to the fire," said his wife, Roxann. It was a specialty that brought him to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. He has been missing ever since.
A classical guitarist who both studied and taught guitar, his guitar playing halted recently because of arthritis in his thumbs. His solution to continuing his love of music, an upright grand piano, sits in his house, delivered less than a month ago.
A man who always had two or three jobs going, the father of three's plans included teaching in high school or college when he finished his master's degree and retired from the Fire Department. In the meantime he was his wife's "right hand," helping run their nursery school and day care business which served 100 children.
Raised in Grant City, he graduated from St. Christopher's Elementary School, Grant City, and in 1970 from St. Peter's High School. In the early 1960s he lived in the Clifton/Stapleton area. He began his college studies at the College of Staten Island and continued them at Brooklyn College, where he received a bachelor of science in geology.
Staten Island Advance