Remembering 9/11

Sept. 11 family still grieving, but moving on

Mother, siblings of victim Andrew Stern talk of pain and hope, 14 years later

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“How do you sum up the life of your firstborn child who was murdered out of hatred?” asked Barbara Stern, of Oceanside, mother of Andrew J. Stern, a victim of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. “It’s impossible to adequately sum up the void left in the lives of those who loved Andy. The cruel and senseless acts of 9/11 have changed our family forever.”

Stern was born on June 27, 1960, in the same city in which he died 41 years later at the hand of terrorists. A Bellmore resident at the time of his death, he grew up in Lynbrook and attended Centre Avenue Elementary and East Rockaway High School, graduating in 1978, and went on to receive a degree from Hofstra University. He was working as a bond broker at Cantor Fitzgerald, on the 104th floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center, when the first plane hit. His body was found intact three days later among the rubble: He had gotten out of the building, but was killed when he was hit by debris.

Besides his mother, Stern left behind his wife, Kate; two children, Danny, then 7, and Emma, then 4; a sister, Lisa Burch, and a brother, Michael.

“Andy was the kindest, most thoughtful and peace-loving person I ever knew,” said his mother. “He adored his wife and children and his home. He was his son’s coach and a buddy with whom he shared his love of sports. He was always there for me when my husband was so ill, and he would come with Danny to sit with ‘grandpa’ so I could go out. And he doted on his baby girl.”

“There is not a day that goes by that I don’t remember my brother,” said Burch. “A song on the radio, a TV show … I see people who look like him all the time. To me these are all opportunities to take a minute and be with Andy. I still cry often, but that’s OK — everyone grieves in his or her own way. The grief never goes away, but it changes.” Burch added that this time of year is always the hardest. “Our grief becomes public,” she said, “but we’re surrounded by so much support from each other and from our friends.”

Michael Stern echoed his mother’s and younger sister’s sentiments, saying that his life would never be the same without his big brother. “The loss, and Andy’s kindness to everyone, will never be forgotten,” he said.

Keeping his memory alive

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