NY Post Online
October 15, 2001 -- FDNY Lt. Tom O'Hagen was a true renaissance man, his grieving friends and family said yesterday.
An expert cook who loved good clothes, good food and good wine, O'Hagen put his family and job above everything else.
The veteran firefighter was one of the first on the scene after the terror attacks on the World Trade Center. At a memorial service at St. Margaret's of Crotona in Riverdale for the Bronx-born hero, his large family recalled his devotion to his wife, Andrea, and his 1-year-old twins, Pierce and Patrick.
His brother Ray told the packed memorial that the 43-year-old O'Hagen's tragic death reminded him of the opening sentence of Charles Dickens' "Tale of Two Cities": It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
"Even though it was written more than 100 years ago, it is applicable to today and Tom," Ray O'Hagen said, adding that his brother's devotion to his kids made the days prior to Sept. 11 the best of times.
"He will always be my brother, my friend, my hero. Life will go on without him, but it will be the worst of times."
O'Hagen - one of 11 brothers and sisters - joined the FDNY in 1981 and was promoted to lieutenant last November. He had been rotating through a number of different stations; most recently he had been at Engine Co. 6 on Bleecker Street.
In the service program, his devastated wife, Andrea, described her husband as an "honest and gentle man who was loved by so many."
"He took such pride and joy in his boys, and I know he'll miss them most," Andrea O'Hagen's note read. "I'll miss Tom, but I was a lucky woman to have him in my life."
His brother, Frank Jr., said O'Hagen was "the most engaged father" he had ever known.
"The boys were just getting to know him," Frank Jr. said. "He was downright bubbly, and his sense of humor was biting and sarcastic - but never mean.
"We'll miss his smile, we'll miss his warmth."
Pals from the city's shattered firefighting fraternity also fondly recalled O'Hagen's humor and culinary skills. A lifelong resident of Riverdale, O'Hagen knew every nook and cranny of the streets where he grew up.
"He was my chauffeur when I was assigned here," said Lt. Ed Marcoux. "Tom knew every pothole, every street. He was a thoroughbred - a designer lieutenant in an off-the-rack department."
Firefighter Mike Esposito recalled that his pal's coleslaw was so good that even people who normally hated the dish, gave thumbs-up to O'Hagen's version.
A funeral service was also held for firefighter Ronnie Henderson of Engine 279 last night at the Church of God by Faith in upstate Newburgh. The veteran firefighter - who lived in Walden - is survived by his wife, Shirley, and two sons, Hashim, 20, and Doron, 16.
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