Many who escaped the Fiduciary Trust Company's offices in the south tower of the World Trade Center said afterward that they last saw Bennett L. Fisher on the 44th floor, pushing people into elevators and sending them to safety while he stayed behind.

Susan Fisher, his wife, said she was not surprised to hear it.

"He was very caring and take-charge and he was probably obnoxious as hell up there," Ms. Fisher said.

Mr. Fisher, 58, was a senior vice president at Fiduciary Trust, managing his clients' assets and troubleshooting the firm's computer systems.

His stepson, Jamie, thought his character was reflected in the once-familiar sight of this successful businessman, a sailor and a skier, motoring about in his aged Volvo, painted an unorthodox purple, while following his favorite conservative commentators on the radio.

Ms. Fisher said the family and friends are struck by the possibility that the attack that took his life could influence the world.

"Not to make it tougher," she said, "but a little more understanding."

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on September 28, 2001