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THOMAS M. BRENNAN: Rock Tunes and Giggles

 

When Jennifer Brennan was pregnant with her first child, her husband, Thomas M. Brennan, would play Grateful Dead tapes loudly, hoping the music would reach the ears of his unborn daughter. When the baby kicked, as she invariably did, Mr. Brennan was delighted. She, too, he would say, was a fan.

On the last day he spent with his family, the Sunday before Sept. 11, Mr. Brennan, 32, played Grateful Dead compact discs in the car as the family shopped for furniture for their new house in Scarsdale in Westchester.

Strapped to her car seat, Mr. Brennan's daughter, Catherine, now 19 months, laughed and moved to the music. And that is how Mrs. Brennan would like to remember her husband: as the only person who could make their daughter giggle uncontrollably.

With his wife pregnant with the couple's second child, a boy who was born last month, Mr. Brennan took on many of the child care duties. He often got up early with his daughter, fed her breakfast and carried her when she needed a hug.

Mr. Brennan, an investment banker with Sandler O'Neill, treasured the time with his family, in part because he traveled constantly for work. Tuesday, Sept. 11, was the only day of that week he was scheduled to be in the office.

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From "Profiles in Grief" of The New York Times