PETER CHIRCHIRILLO: A Mr.
Fixit
If
Peter Chirchirillo did not care for you, he would be nice
and polite. But if he really loved you, his wife said,
poor you.
Mr. Chirchirillo, 47, a project manager with Marsh
USA, had a knack for showing his affection in exuberant
ways, his wife, Clara Chirchirillo, said. For a favorite
cousin, he bought a welcome mat he put out any time she
came to visit. "Go Away," it read. For large weekend
gatherings of family or friends at his home, he would set
at least five alarm clocks for 7 p.m. and when they all
rang, he would announce: "It's time to go home,
everybody. Get out."
His wife of 21 years explained, "He liked to torture
people." But she said her husband was really a teddy
bear. He was a regular Mr. Fixit, always ready to help,
she said. He was sentimental, and "my feelings always
came first."
Eight years ago, he agreed to move his family from his
native Canarsie, Brooklyn, to Langhorne, Pa., for a safer
environment for his two sons, Michael, 18, and Nick, 14.
That meant a four-hour round-trip commute to his office
at the World Trade Center. Mrs. Chirchirillo said her
sons were following in their father's footsteps. "If I
walk out, they lock the door and they make sure I don't
have the keys with me," she said.
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