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Azucena de la Torre: The Centerpiece of a Family

 

Azucena De La Torre, 50, was only 18 and just out of high school when she came to the United States from Ecuador, determined to make her own way in a new land. And in short order, she succeeded, earning a B.A. from City College and later a master's degree in computer science from New York University.

At Chase Manhattan Bank, Ms. De La Torre rose to become a vice president and senior project manager before joining Cantor Fitzgerald/eSpeed, working on the 103rd floor of 1 World Trade Center.

But it was among her close-knit family -- her parents, five sisters and a brother -- that Afita, as she was known, achieved her greatest success. "She was the center for the whole family," said her sister Gladys. "Anybody who had any questions would ask her. She had the ability to connect with everyone."

She took in her two young nieces when her sister, their mother, died, and taught them to be independent and strong. She helped with math homework, computer problems, and on Saturdays, presided over family barbecues that were held by her pool in Bulls Head, Staten Island, in a garden that also flourished under her touch.

"Afita was in charge of the barbecue," her niece Monica Jairala recalled. "Everybody else helped with other things, but she stood over the barbecue."

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From "Profiles in Grief" of The New York Times