Livingston’s 9/11 Victims: Community Event Will Remember Lives Lost

LIVINGSTON, NJ — The Livingston community will hold a “Ceremony of Remembrance” at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 11 at the 9-11 Living Memorial Garden.

According to a township news release, Livingston Boy Scouts will serve as honor guards leading the Pledge of Allegiance followed by the Livingston High School Chorus, under the direction of Joshua Salzman singing the National anthem. The chorus will also sing “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” You’ll Never Walk Alone” and “God Bless America.”

Following the invocation by Rabbi Clifford Kulwin of Temple B’nai Abraham, Mayor Shawn Klein will share his thoughts about this ceremony as well as an explanation of the meaning of the design of the Garden.

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Livingston Facebook page here.

Other planned aspects of the ceremony include:

• 9-11 Garden and Ceremony Chairperson, Bunnie Ratner will recite a poem
• Vietnam veteran Brian Boyle will toll a bell as Livingston Girl Scouts place a white rose on the gardens center monument, a steel beam from the World Trade Center which supports a sundial and plaques marking the times and locations of the four attacks on Sept. 11, 2001
• Family members and guests will be asked to share their thoughts and feelings at this time after the benediction by Pastor Daniel Martian, Presbyterian Church of Livingston, Tim Griffin and his daughter Gabrielle, who will play taps

Parking will be available at St. Philomena’s Church. For more information, contact Liliana Branquinho at 973-535-7925, ext. 260, or click here.

REMEMBERING LIVINGSTON’S 9/11 VICTIMS

A following ceremony will honor the lives of seven Livingston residents whose lives were taken in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. According to municipal officials:

Luke A. Dudek, 50 – “Luke grew up in Livingston and graduated from Fairleigh Dickenson in 1973 with a degree in Psychology, majoring in organizational management and quantitative analysis. Mr. Dudek was proud of his position as food and beverage Comptroller for the prestigious Cellars in the Sky and Windows of the World restaurants in the World Trade Towers. Working with his life partner, George A. Cuellar, he was in the process of extending their flower business, Conqui Design Inc., to their own building in Cedar Grove. After taking a weeks’ vacation completing the renovations, Luke went back to work in New York on Sept. 11, 2001. He died in the attacks on the World Trade Center.”

Jeffrey Brian Gardner, 36 – “Jeff was a graduate of Livingston High School and Rutgers University. Jeff was an environmental insurance broker who worked for Marsh and McLennan. He also found great joy in his work as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. He built houses on his vacations and weekends in Newark, Honduras, and Brazil. He described his “great days” when he saw the excitement of the faces of the new homeowners. Jeff has a sizable tattoo of the sun on his ankle. His family said he believed, “There are no bad days, only good days and great days. There is always sunshine.” Mr. Gardner was described as a big kid whose “toys” included two motorcycles and power tools. He also read the Torah, the New Testament and the Quran. Jeff embraced life with all his strength.”

Donald Thomas Jones II, 38 – “Donald attended Collins Elementary School and Heritage Junior High School and graduated from Newark Academy where he excelled. After graduating from the University of Richmond in Virginia, he began his career at Cantor Fitzgerald. Mr. Jones began working at Cantor Fitzgerald at the bond desk. His brother Will Jones said Don was a “consummate salesman” which explains how during his seventeen years of the brokerage firm he rose through the ranks to become a partner. During the 1993 bombing of the WTC, he helped a pregnant women down the stairs; a journey that took 2 ½ hours. Mr. Jones spotted Michele Ramirez on her first day of work at Cantor Fitzgerald and immediately declared he would marry her. A year later they were married and had two children, a daughter Taylor and then a son Donnie. A true family man, Don would race home from the office to play catch with Taylor and work with his son on his mountain bike. He taught his children his favorite Aerosmith songs and how to play Blackjack. “There’s no Go Fish happening in this house,” he said. Mr. Jones was the son of Judith and Donald T. Jones, the Livingston chief of police. On a mountain bike trek with his best friend, Jim Borkan, Donald stopped by a sun-dappled pond and smiled at the scene and said “I love my life.”

Ming-Hao Liu, 41 – “Ming Hao Liu studied at the Cheng-Kung University in Taiwan. In 1985, he pursued a master’s degree in civil engineering at Rutgers University. Ming Hao Liu worked for Washington Group International helping to design the Monorail at Newark International Airport as well as a new airport transportation system for JFK Airport. He worked on the reconstruction of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Line. He was the senior staff engineer. Mr. Liu was on the 91st floor of Two World Trade Center when the building was struck by a hijacked airplane. While other employees of the firm were able to make it to safety, Mr. Liu did not. Mr. and Mrs. Liu had two sons, Allen, 2, and Austin, 7. Mr. Liu was the principal of the very successful Livingston Chinese School. Much to the disappointment of his sons, instead of bringing them gifts (which he had already purchased) after a trip to Taiwan, he found 50 textbooks for his school. He left the gifts for his sons with his mother-in-law because they couldn’t fit in his suitcase. Mrs. Liu explained “It’s not for himself; it’s always for other people. He wants to make things good.” Mrs. Liu remembers her husband as a caring man with an inquisitive mind and leadership qualities.”

Joseph P. McDonald, 43 – “Born in Brooklyn, he was a Livingston resident since 1989. He was a graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. In high school, he was a standout in baseball, basketball and later on in college, rugby was added to his sports resume. Mr. McDonald worked for many years as a broker of financial services for Garvin, Guybutler Ltd. and Garban LCC. before joining Cantor Fitzgerald. He was at work at the World Trade center and died with many other associates in the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. For most of his life, Mr. McDonald was known as an outstanding athlete with an intellectual understanding of how to be a winner. In his later years, he changed his focus from clients to his wife Denise and his daughters Kathleen and Brigid as well as his parents, Joseph and May. Weekends were spent hiking and being part of the girls’ soccer and softball games. “His athleticism was God-given, and he had a good time with it, but it didn’t define his life,” said his father. “What defined his life was his marriage and fatherhood.”

John M. Pocher, 36 - “John graduated from Seton Hall Preparatory School, Seton Hall University and Fairleigh Dickenson University. He grew up in Livingston. As a bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald, Mr. Pocher was known for his ability to play close attention to detail. He was always aware of when and where bonds in his sector were trading. John is described by his wife Laura A. Grygotis, MD, as a very thoughtful person who was loving and devoted. They enjoyed traveling as well as spending quiet time together. Vacationing at the Jersey Shore was also a favorite destination.”

Kenneth Albert Zelman, 37 – “Ken graduated from Livingston High School and Rider University. Mr. Zelman was a software consultant for Oracle Corp and had been working for a year at Marsh and McLennon on the 99th floor of the North Tower. He was known to arrive early and stay late, but Ken’s big thing was his family. As he was leaving for the train to NYC on September 11th, his 14 month old son was blowing kisses to his daddy. Weekends were always set aside for fancy outings to crafts festivals, the zoo and ice cream parlors. Their August vacation was spent on Long Beach Island where Mr. Zelman spent hours building sand castles. His daughter Olivia, 4, was “daddy’s girl”. Ken would put her to bed and they would make up stories to tell each other. It was her routine to throw her arms around him when he walked in the door after work and call out ‘Daddy’s Home!’”

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Photo: Livingston Township