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MANNY DELVALLE JR.: Carpe Diem, to Music

 

Manny DelValle Jr. was an organized man -- he had to be to find time for his extensive family and all of his interests. "Manny was a don't-leave-for-tomorrow-what-you-can-do-today guy," said his mother, Gricel Zayas-Moyer, of Brookline, Mass.

At home in the Bronx, Mr. DelValle took advanced classes in salsa dancing. He loved Latin music but listened to everything. "Rap," said his brother Pete Moyer. "And R&B," added his sister Grace Nolly. "Old school," said his father, Manuel Del Valle, to be specific.

Mr. DelValle, who graduated from the University of Maryland, was also an accomplished moguls skier and roller skater, a traveler, a lover of war movies and, his family says, a lady's man. He also got Engine Company No. 5, where he was assigned, to participate in the Puerto Rican Day Parade. He was the one in the family who always sent a card and gift to siblings, half-siblings and cousins.

He helped his stepfather get organized, too. "All of a sudden, my husband was remembering all this stuff, and he told me `Manny organized my Palm Pilot,' " Mrs. Zayas-Moyer said.

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From "Profiles in Grief" of The New York Times