MARK STAMEY and BILL HOFFMANN
NY Post Online
November 14, 2001 -- Fire Lt. Joseph Leavey was remembered yesterday, on what would have been his 46th birthday, as a "courageous model for other firemen."
The heroic father of three, who worked with Ladder 15, died Sept. 11 when the World Trade Center collapsed.
He left behind a wife and three children - but his spirit was very much alive yesterday at a funeral service in Westchester County.
The congregation included scores of firefighters from as far away as Canada.
His young daughter Kerry addressed a standing-room-only crowd at St. Catherine's Church in Pelham.
"I will always love you, Daddy. Happy birthday to my hero," she said before the packed congregation.
Leavey, who had a civil-engineering degree, was an encyclopedia of facts and figures regarding city architecture, Mayor Giuliani told the mourners.
"He had a knowledge of almost every building design in this city. He was a student of the buildings of New York," the mayor said.
"The World Trade Center had a special place in his heart. He thought of it as an engineering marvel."
And speaking directly to the firefighter's children - Kerry, Brian and Caitlin - he added:
"We - the whole country - owe you and your family a great deal. Nobody can take your father from you. He made you and so did your mom.
"The ideas of honest bravery and strength are inside you. Take tremendous pride in the kind of a man he was. He was a hero in the truest sense of the word."
The mayor said Leavey selflessly gave his life saving people at the Twin Towers.
Leavey's widow, Carole, choked back tears as she said Joe and their three kids were the best thing that ever happened to her.
"Marriage is a blessing from heaven, and Joe was a gift from God," Carole said.
Lt. Paul Lupano, who worked with Leavey, called him "a gentleman who loved the fire service. He was a fireman's fireman."
Chief Joe Nardone of Battalion 9 called his fallen friend "a model for other firemen. He was a man of courage, solid as a post . . . and a dear friend."
Several other of Leavey's colleagues said the fallen firefighter would always be with them on the job and be an inspiration to carry on.
