|
|
9.23.2001 00:16
R.I.
family
loses one
of its own
• Mark Charette, 38, killed in the attack on the World Trade Center, leaves three children and a wife in New Jersey, and a family in West Warwick.
BY MICHAEL CORKERY
Journal Staff Writer
He was a senior vice president at a high-powered insurance company and a graduate of the Wharton School of Business.
He was a top student at Pilgrim High School, in Warwick, a former lieutenant on a Navy submarine, a handyman who renovated his old Victorian house in New Jersey
.
But above all, Mark Charette, 38, was a family man, who took time to read to his children, to give them baths and accompany them on the first day of school.
"His family was his number-one priority," said Charette's wife, Cheryl Desmarais, of Millburn, N.J. "He left work at work. He wanted to be there for his children."
Charette, formerly of Warwick, was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center. His family yesterday announced plans for his memorial service, confirming publicly for the first time that he had died.
A senior vice president for Marsh Inc., he worked at the company's offices in Morristown, N.J. But on the morning of Sept. 11, he was attending a meeting on the 100th floor of the World Trade Center when the first hijacked plane hit.
At first, Desmarais thought her husband might have escaped, but her hope soon gave way to grief. Charette is one of 313 people from Marsh & McLennan Companies who are reported missing and feared dead.
Charette left early for work that morning because he didn't want to be late for his meeting in Manhattan. He told his wife he expected to be home on time that evening.
His children, Lauren, 8, Andrew, 6, and Jonathan, 2, were still sleeping when he left.
After the attack, Charette's brother, Greg Charette, and parents Lawrence and Donnalee Charette, all of West Warwick, gathered at his New Jersey home. They have been remembering Charette and also planning the future for his wife and children. Greg Charette said one of his priorities is making sure the children know who their father was.
"They will know their father," Greg Charette said yesterday, "because so many people will be able to speak about him."
They will speak about how Charette refurbished his daughter's bedroom, redesigned the family kitchen and built a swing set in the back yard. How he liked to take his children skiing, camping and fishing. How he enrolled in the military's ROTC program after high school so his parents, living in Warwick at the time, wouldn't have to pay for college.
And they will speak about his integrity. "To Mark, there was the easy way and the right way," Desmarais said.
Greg Charette, 35, said his older brother was his hero -- someone with no enemies, only friends. A person with enormous intelligence, compassion and a smile that would light up the room.
"If anyone could fly by flapping his wings, it was him," he said. "My parents and I were so proud of him."
Greg Charette said he's not angered by the attack. "I don't need to be angry," he said. "Because this will be taken care of and things will be more secure than ever before."
"This is a time to mourn and honor my brother," Charette said. "And to pray for the other families who are grieving."
|
|
|
Printer-Friendly Version
