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John F. Casazza: Objects of His Affection

 

John F. Casazza met his wife-to-be, Patty Fahy, at Shalimar, a disco on Route 35 in South Amboy, N.J., on Sept. 21, 1984. She was wearing beige pants, a sweater with a blazer and heels; he had on black pants, a shirt and tie, and a Members Only jacket. They danced to the pop tune "Wishing on a Star."

"I can recall it all," Patty Casazza said. Mr. Casazza would bring his wife flowers on Friday nights, and would run into the stands to give her a welcome kiss when she arrived late to watch him coach their son's Little League baseball team at Laird Field in Colts Neck, N.J., where they lived.

"I loved it," she said, laughing. "He had no problem showing his affection."

Mr. Casazza, 38, would always prefer to go home to his family than to take clients out on the town, said Jim Lee, who knew him since the two attended kindergarten on Staten Island. It was Mr. Lee who drove Mr. Casazza to his first date with Patty.

Mr. Casazza worked his way to his position as a government bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, the kind of job normally available only to people with a college degree, Mr. Lee said. "John was the kind of person who never had anything handed to him," he said. "But John always had the determination and the drive."

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From "Profiles in Grief" of The New York Times