KEITH BROOMFIELD: A Natural Fix-It
Ability
To help support his 10 children in America and back in
Jamaica, Keith Broomfield spent years picking apples and
working as a Manhattan parking lot attendant. Three years
ago, Mr. Broomfield, described by friends as having a
powerful sense of integrity and a melt-your-frown smile,
became a mechanic for Advent Industrial, which builds
broadcast transmitters.
He had a natural fix-it ability, which he tried to
impart to his fiance, Jennifer Morrison, with whom he
lived in Brooklyn. "He gave me the courage to do things I
didn't want to do," she said Ñ like understanding
car guts. "He would say, `I want to show you this because
there's going to be times when I can't be with you and I
want you to talk to mechanics in a certain way so they
won't give you garbage,' " Ms. Morrison said.
Mr. Broomfield, 49, was enormously proud of his job,
because he was relied upon to be a jack-of-all-trades.
When he had to check an antenna site, he would clamber
out on the roof of the 110th floor of 1 World Trade
Center, fling open his arms and shout, "I'm king of the
world!"
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