By JOSEPH KELLARD
Although she called her boyfriend, John Mendez, to say she was "okay" after the initial attacks, her life was among the thousands that were savagely taken on Sept. 11.
Louisa Deccio, a cousin of Mendez, spoke lovingly of Marchese, recalling one of her countless acts of selflessness. "She was passionate about skiing, and yet [during a recent ski trip] she took time out to watch my son so I, who was a complete beginner, could take a few runs," Louisa said.
Marchese, 35, a life-long Freeport resident, and Mendez, 31, a life-long
Island Park resident, purchased a house in Oceanside, ideally located between
the homes of their two families. The couple lived in their new home for just 10 days before the terrorists struck.
"Her mother and I were very excited because she was about to start a
family as soon as she got married," said Anthony Marchese, Laura's father.
"That's why she moved nearby. My wife would help watch her children. That was
our plans."
Marchese and Mendez were planning to marry on a Caribbean island between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
"Laura was a very special person," Mendez said. "Very smart, very
intelligent and very successful. She was the kindest, sweetest person I'd
ever met. She would do anything for anyone she or I knew. She was very loving and caring."
The couple met on the Long Island Rail Road five years ago. That day, Mendez, who works for the LIRR's track department, was heading to
his headquarters; Marchese to work in Manhattan.
"We talked and I liked her instantly. Before she got off the train, I
asked her if she was involved with anyone. She said she wasn't, so I asked
her if she wanted to go out," Mendez recalled.
Merchese worked at the Freeport Memorial Library for five years while attending Freeport High School and Nassau Community College. At the library, she assisted in developing children's programs and categorizing books into its computer system. Merchese left that job to work at Reliance National, an insurance company, in Manhattan, where over the coarse of 12 years she elevated herself from a ground-floor position to an executive assistant.
She had been working high above Manhattan with Alliance Consulting Group
for over a year before Sept. 11.
"Initially, she had mixed emotions about working at the World Trade
Center," her father said. "She was very excited about working there. She loved the people she worked for and she thought the buildings were magnificent. Yet she was also a bit apprehensive about working on the 102 floor. But she sort of overcame those feelings."
At the time of the attacks, Mendez was working at the LIRR's West
Hempstead branch and his sister-in-law, Christine, called his cell phone to
ask if he'd heard about a plane flying into a Twin Tower.
"I got frantic," Mendez recalled. "I hung up and then my cousin called and told me about the attack. I said, 'Oh my God, Laura is on the 102 floor of that tower.' I frantically left the job and a foreman drove me back to my headquarters. I called Laura's cell phone and she told me, 'I'm being checked out. I'm okay. Please call my mother.' I didn't know what she meant by 'being checked out,' but I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she was alright."
From his headquarters, Mendez drove to his cousin's house to watch the
events unfold on TV.
"That's when I saw the tower crumble. I just feel to my knees crying. I
had a feeling she was gone."
Mendez called Laura's cell phone all day and night. There was no answer.
He, his sister, Margaret, and Marchese's sister, Cathy, went together into
Manhattan the next morning and traveled on foot to each hospital and medical center. They found sign that Marchese had survived.
Friends and loved ones say Marchese was "committed" to everything and everyone she cared about. Marchese's mother, Lorraine, agreed with this characterization of her daughter, recalling how much time and work she gave volunteering for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
In addition to her passion for skiing, Marchese was an avid sports fan,
particularly of the New York Islanders and Yankees, and she was "as
knowledgeable as any guy about sports," her mother said. Rollerblading and
vacationing, particularly on cruises, were other activities she enjoyed.
In forming their close relationship, Deccio and Merchese often performed
various seasonal activities together, including apple and pumpkin picking in the
fall, concerts during the summer, visiting Rockefeller Center around
Christmas time, and skiing in the winter.
"She was the closest person to being angelic that I have experienced,"
said Deccio. "She touched me very deeply and will be missed terribly."
In coping with his loss, Mendez said that his and Laura's family and her
good friends have consoled him considerably. "It's devastating, but they give
me strength to keep me moving. You have no choice but to keep moving, right?"
he asked rhetorically.
