Sarah Morgan
Donald F. Spampinato, Jr. was 39, had a wife named Laurie, and three little boys: his 6-year-old namesake; David, 4; and Peter, nearly 2.
Laurie used to be a lawyer, but they managed their finances so she could stay home – be with the boys, be a class mother, be an officer in the PTA. All that good stuff.
Don was an athletic man, a hockey player and triathlete, and encouraged the same athleticism in his sons as a coach of their baseball and soccer teams. He’d been a high-school teacher and coach professionally before becoming a bond trader, but the trading was working out well: they had a beautiful home in Manhasset, a well-off little community in Long Island, the borough in which he’d grown up.
(In one of my favorite movies, “Miracle on 34th Street,” Fred, falling under the spell of Kris Kringle, who everyone ends up telling their secret wishes to, tells him that he dreams of buying a little house in Manhasset someday.)
* * *
Don and Laurie’s three boys are 14, 12 and 9 now. His sons have been without their father longer than they were with him.
Because Don worked for Cantor Fitzgerald, on the 104th floor of Tower One, and he went to work on a Tuesday morning.
This post is part of Project 2,996, an effort to remember those who died on September 11, 2001. The research has been gathered from publicly available materials.
Sarah,
Found you by accident. But I had to say something.
Donald and I weren’t close as I was with my cousin Laurie but it affected me in a way that I know I have never rebounded from. I can’t fathom the idea of ever being in her shoes (or any spouse of a 9/11 victim) and forging through her tragedy.
People tend to forget that scars don’t fade away completely even years after a tragedy.
Regards,
Dino
The ongoing heartbreak of what the children have lost is devastating. Thank you for this touching tribute. I honor Christopher Paul Slattery.
Thank you for remembering this loving father. May his wife and sons find comfort in knowing that others will never forget Don.