A LOOK AT THE LIVES OF SOME LOST IN THE WTC TRAGEDY Irwin Erker of Farmingdale by Carolyn James

Irwin Erker with wife and children

When Ann Erker turned on the television September 11 and saw a jetliner plow into the World Trade Center she knew immediately that her husband had died in the terrorist attack.

"I told my sister that the plane went right into his desk," said Ann. "I could tell by where it hit that my husband was gone."

Despite that Ann said she went into a state of denial for a couple of days, waiting for him to call or walk through the front door. But the reality hit, again, this time hard and with utter finality.

"I was very honest with my children from the start because I believe that was what I had to do," said Ann who went to school the day of the attack to pick up her daughter, Lauren 12 and Andrew 9. "My daughter had already heard about the attack in school and called me, so I knew she was very worried."

Irwin Erker, 41, a resident of Farmingdale worked for Marsh and McLellan and was among 300 employees the company lost. He had worked there on the 97th floor for almost 20 years, and was vice president of Computers TIS.

The couple were high school sweethearts. They met at McDonalds in Forest Hills, Queens and Ann recalls how Irwin used to check her schedule and go into the fast-food restaurant to see her. "One night, he finally asked me to go to the movies.

The couple would have shared their 17th wedding anniversary last week.

Instead of that celebration, Ann Erker held a memorial service and funeral mass for her husband at St. James R.C. Church.

When Ann talks about her husband she remembers the little things—how he used to call her so many times during the day to see how her day was going and to talk to the children. "He was a very active part of our children’s lives," she said. "And, for that I am grateful, too."

She’s also grateful for wonderful memories she has of their lives together. "We traveled a lot, camping and having a wonderful time," she said. "I am now so glad for everything we did together."

Ann spoke to her husband at 8:15 that morning. "He called me when he got to work and said he was just checking in. I was rushing around, trying to get the kids out to school so we didn’t talk long. I told him I would see him that night and hung up the phone. It’s amazing how much we take for granted."

Mr. Erker also enjoyed skiing and golfing and was a member of the Farmingdale Civic Association.

If Ann finds any comfort during these difficult days, it is in the fact that she is not alone.

"So many people are coming forward and I never realized how many friends he had and how many people’s lives he touched," she said. "He was a bundle of information and was always there to give advice or help someone who needed him."

In addition to his wife and children, Mr. Erker is survived by his parents Josephine and Siegfried Erker of Ridgewood, Queens; his sisters Susie Beck and her husband Peter of Glendale and Anita Erker of Mesa, Arizona; his mother- and father-in-law, Margaret and Bob Hoelle of Middle Village, and his sister- and brother-in-law Susan and Tom Stalzer of Plainview.

Mark Rosen had a "magical" life

by Carolyn James

There’s a strength in Patricia Rosen’s voice when she talks about her husband Mark Harlan Rosen. It’s a strength that defies the tragic loss of Mark in the World Trade Center Disaster September 11, but one that comes, she says from having lived a "magic" life and of having no regrets.

"We loved and appreciated each other and we let each other know that every day," said Patricia. "We had a magic and I always knew it and though we will miss him very much, I am content with what we had together. Some people live much longer lives and don’t have what we shared."

Mark Rosen was a partner in the Fixed Income Division of Sandler O’Neill. He perished along with 63 colleagues but managed to call his wife, his mother and his ex-wife before the second plane hit, and the buildings collapsed. In typical fashion for the West Islip resident, his thoughts, even as danger loomed, was to worry about others.

"He was worried that his children would hear something in school and wanted us to know that he was fine," said Patricia.

After Mark hung up, Patricia thought about her mother and mother-in-law in Florida and worried that they would hear the news and become distraught. Moments after the first call from Mark, she called him back. He answered on the first ring and said he had thought of their parents, too, and had already made the call to Florida to assure them he was fine.

That was the last conversation Patricia Rosen had with her husband of 14 years, but the memories of their life together has provided her with a storehouse of memories that will carry her through, she said.

Mark Rosen has three children, Bryan 16, Matthew 11 and Amanda 13.

When his oldest son decided he didn’t want to attend first grade, Rosen often took the train into Queens in the morning to pick his son up from his ex-wife’s house, give him some moral support and bring him to school. When that was rewarded years later with Bryan being accepted into Archbishop Molloy High School, Mark Rosen beamed with pride.

When his daughter Amanda was in competition as a PAL Sparkler, Mark Rosen traveled to gymnasiums around the country to watch her three-minute performance of baton twirling, or as Mark called it, "stick throwing."

When his son Matthew wanted to take friends to an Islander game or WWF tournament, it was his father who came up with the tickets and drove the group, making the obligatory stop at the snack bars and souvenir stands.

"Mark was uniquely special to us because of his ability to revel in the individuality of every person," said Patti. "And this was never more evident than in his special relationship with each of his children."

Mark Rosen was Jewish and Patti Rosen is Catholic, but that didn’t stop him from dressing up as Santa Claus at Christmas time for his wife’s catechism class. And, it didn’t stop him from attending church with his family, which was of paramount importance to him, said Patti. So, when it came time to memorialize her husband, Patti wanted it to be in Our Lady of Lourdes R.C. Church in West Islip.

"I wanted the day to be a celebration of his life," said Patti Rosen. "I wanted to get together with the people and family he loved and to remember the wonderful times we had together."

He reached out to family and friends in many ways. Many related how he had touched their lives at the memorial September 29 with advice and friendship.

Patti Rosen eulogized her husband, saying he was not unlike so many who died that day—devoted family men and women, faithful to friends and full of hopes and dreams.

"He was a man who never allowed the trivia of everyday life to interfere with his family and we are all blessed to have been a part of his life," she said. "I know he will always be with us."