original: http://leaningstraightup.com/2006/09/10/2996-we-will-never-forget/


2996: We will never forget- updated
Posted Monday, September 11th, 2006 at 3:10 AM by Karl under 9/11 

This tribute will remain a 'sticky post', above all others until Tuesday 9-12

Updated below 

 

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Robert William  McPadden, 30, Pearl River, N.Y.

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Firefighter, New York Fire Department
 Confirmed dead, World Trade Center, at/in building

Robert McPadden liked to be tested. He did not wait to see if he could withstand challenges — he sought them out.

He liked comparing his personal favorites to the critics' Top 10 lists. He was so good at "Jeopardy!" that other firefighters thought he was watching reruns of shows he had seen. He was confident enough to marry a woman almost as tall as he and as much of an athlete: when Kate and Bob McPadden played one-on-one basketball, he won the scrambles, she beat him on the foul line.

Could he best his late father, a New York fire lieutenant? For years, he waited to be accepted into the department and dreamed of making captain.

Confident, yes; attitude, no: Although Firefighter McPadden, 30, had a master's degree in criminal justice, as a new member of the crew he happily peeled potatoes, washed dishes and led schoolchildren around Engine Company 23 in Manhattan, saying: "Hi! I'm Fireman Bob!"

Last summer was truly his championship season. He hit the tying run that helped Engine Company 38 win the Bronx title. His young marriage glowed. Kate and he were a day away from moving to Pearl River, N.Y., near his mother and siblings. So excited was Firefighter McPadden about life that he would shout, "We won, Kate, we won!"

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on January 22, 2002.

 Firefighter Followed in Father's Footsteps

April 12, 2002

Earning a graduate degree in criminal justice, Robert McPadden could have almost immediately become a New York City police officer but -- in honor of his late father, who was a New York City firefighter -- he preferred to wait until there was a civil service opening to become a firefighter.

After several years, the opportunity came, and McPadden joined the ranks of firefighters about two years ago and was assigned to Engine Co. 23 on West 58th Street. His father, Michael McPadden, was a lieutenant and served in the fire department for almost 40 years.

"My husband's unit was among the first to arrive," said McPadden's wife, Kate. "They were caught when the south tower collapsed." McPadden's remains were identified recently.

She said her husband "always was interested in public service," noting that it was a family tradition. In addition to his father, an uncle was a New York City firefighter, his sister, Annmarie Walker, is a police officer in Ramapo, N.Y., and his brother, Michael, is a police officer in Orangeburg, N.Y.

"Robert absolutely loved being a firefighter," she said. The couple, who would have been married three years on Oct. 11, had just bought a home in Pearl River, N.Y.

"He had a great, hearty laugh, and we always had such a wonderful time together," his wife recalled. "He was very smart, not so much in a book sense but in terms of being savvy and sharp."

McPadden, 30, received his undergraduate degree in history from St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkhill, N.Y., and his graduate degree from Iona College in New Rochelle.

In addition to his wife, McPadden is survived by his mother, Judy, of Pearl River, N.Y.; three sisters, Annmarie Walker and Elizabeth Burnham, both of Goshen, N.Y., and Cathy McPadden of Pearl River, and a brother, Michael, of Nanuet, N.Y.

REST IN PEACE