Stephen Patrick Cherry was 41 years old and from Stamford, Connecticut. (Born: New York, NY). Stephen worked as an equity stockbroker at Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th Floor in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
When Stephen called his wife from work the morning of September 11, 2001, he did not sound at all worried. It was 8:40am, the planes were still miles away, and Stephen was calling to thank his wife, Maryellen, again for making his favorite dinner the night before, orange roast chicken, and to tell her how much he loved her.
At 8:46am, American Airlines Flight 11 ripped a path across floors 94 to 98, directly into the office of Marsh & McLennan Companies, shredding steel columns, wallboard, filing cabinets and computer-laden desks. Its fuel ignited and incinerated everything in its way.
In the equities trading area in the southern part of the 104th floor, looking toward the Statue of Liberty, Stephen pushed a button at his desk to activate the squawk box, a nationwide intercom to other Cantor offices around the country. "Can anybody hear us?" Stephen asked. A trader in Chicago who was listening in later said that she managed to reach a firehouse near the trade center. "They know you're there," she told Stephen.
"The only thing he wanted was to have a big great room, with the kitchen and the family room and the fireplace all in one place. He always wanted to be with me while I was cooking and with the kids when they were watching TV." Maryellen (Stephen's wife).
