New Jersey Living Memorial, A Grove of Remembrance
The 9/11 Memorial Bridge
Empty Sky: NJ State 9/11 Memorial
Conseleya 9/11 Memorial
Dewitt 9/11 Memorial
Montclair State University 9/11 Memorial
East Newark 9/11 Memorial
Fair Haven 9/11 Memorial
Freehold Township 9/11 Living Memorial Tree Grove
Michael D. Diehl was a bank executive in Tower 2 of the World Trade Center. He worked in that building for twenty years. The morning of 9/11 I kissed him goodbye when he left for work, and I never saw or spoke to him again. We were married 6 days short of 24 years. He was a very quiet, kind man. He worked hard during the week to support his family, but he made sure the weekends were reserved for us. I only found out after 9/11 that he was due to be promoted to Senior Vice President of his firm in two weeks. (I found out that he knew it, but was keeping it a surprise for me.) Michael was working in the Trade Center in 1993 when the bomb went off in the garage. He and three co-workers carried a pregnant woman down 95 stories to safety. It is rumored that these same four men were last seen on the 44th floor putting people onto elevators to get them out when the Towers came crumbling down on 9/11. I don’t know if that is true, but it is what I would like to believe, since we will never know until we meet our Maker. Our family will never be the same, but we will be strong like Michael would want us to be - strong and happy. We have a son, age 24, who graduated college with a degree in English. Our daughter, age 19, is an aspiring musician who attends college in Boston. I know their father is shining down on them, and is very proud of their accomplishments. Our family has been fortunate, since the NY Medical Examiner’s Office was able to identify some of Michael’s remains, the last being put to rest on Flag Day of 2005. Other 9/11 families are still groping for some kind of closure. I hope you don’t mind my sharing our family’s story, since there are so many others left untold. Just know that Michael was loved by so many people, died unnecessarily, and will be sorely missed. He was a wonderful man.
New York Times Portraits of Grief
Michael D. Diehl was a grill master. He grilled chicken, hamburgers, spareribs and turkeys year-round. Neither rain nor sleet nor snow could stop him.
"He would park himself in a lawn chair in front of the barbecue with a glass of wine, preparing mouth-watering foods for his family and friends," said his wife, Loisanne. "Even in the winter he would don a parka, shovel a path to the grill and sit there like he was on top of the world."
Mr. Diehl, 48, used grilling to escape the hurly-burly of Wall Street. Some days he would sit on the sprawling deck of his house in Brick, N.J., taking in the air, not saying a word to anyone, or enjoying light conversation with Mrs. Diehl. He worked at Fiduciary Trust for 19 years. He was a vice president for custody in his last position.
The couple had two children, Jason, 20, and Jeannette, 15. He pushed them to do their best and they tried. Jeannette plays 10 instruments, including the piano, flute and piccolo, while Jason plays 5, including guitar, Mrs. Diehl said.
"He would beam from ear to ear as he listened to Jeannette perform at her piano recitals," Mrs. Diehl said, "or watch Jason make a great save in the goalie net."
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