Michael N. Fodor: His Best Was for
the Family
Lt.
Michael N. Fodor, his friends were convinced, had seen
every "Jeopardy!" episode before it was on television.
"He always knew the answers," said Deborah Fodor, his
wife of 28 years. "He had a passion for learning" and a
vast collection of antique history books, as well as
original copies of the newspapers reporting the attack on
Pearl Harbor and the assassination of John F.
Kennedy.
Fifteen years ago, the family moved to Warwick, N.Y.,
because Lieutenant Fodor wanted his children &emdash;
Michael, 23, Andrew, 22, and Ashley, 16 &emdash; to grow
up in a small town. Lieutenant Fodor, 53, of Tower Ladder
Company 21 in Manhattan, was still all firefighter, and
although the trip to Manhattan could take three hours, he
was on the job on time when the call came from the World
Trade Center.
Holidays were Lieutenant Fodor's favorite time of
year, his wife said, and, like many firefighters, he
loved to cook. After he was promoted to lieutenant 17
years ago, though, he saved the cooking and especially
his pièce de résistance, prime ribs and
Yorkshire pudding, just for the family.
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