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Robert J. Coll: Always the Peacemaker

 

It was perhaps inevitable that when pressures rose at work, colleagues would turn to Robert J. Coll to calm things down. Mr. Coll was born eighth out of nine children, a peacemaker amid the chaos of a big family.

"Maybe being in that position in the family made him compassionate and good with people," said Mr. Coll's older brother, Edward. "He made people feel very at ease with him."

Mr. Coll, 35, and his wife, Jennifer, led an active social life and didn't slow down even when their two children were born. They simply took the children with them, to restaurants, skiing in Stratton, Vt., and on summer trips to the beach.

Known as Woody to friends and clients because of a stubborn cowlick, Mr. Coll was a senior vice president for capital markets at Euro Brokers.

"Even though he had been successful for a while, there was really a sense that my brother was just really starting to spread his wings," Edward Coll said. "There was a transformation from being a baby brother to being one we relied on. He was starting to be a pillar in the family."

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From "Profiles in Grief" of The New York Times