JESSIE GRAHAM and KATE SHEEHY
New York Post Online
September 25, 2001 -- A worn Mayor Giuliani yesterday struggled to keep his composure as he told devastated relatives at the funeral of beloved fire Lt. Timothy Stackpole: "You're not alone."
"When you go outside and look at those uniforms, you've got a big family, and they're not going to go away," the mayor said, his voice wavering as he stood on the altar at Church of the Good Shepherd in Marine Park, Brooklyn, with Stackpole's widow, five kids and hundreds of weeping white-gloved Bravest and Finest looking on.
The 42-year-old from Division 11 was killed after heading into a burning 7 World Trade Center to help evacuate people, and then getting caught in the collapse.
When Giuliani first met Stackpole, the firefighter was recovering from critical burns in the hospital after a 1998 blaze that killed two other members of the FDNY.
Giuliani said he was braced for a very grim meeting with the firefighter.
But Stackpole threw him for a loop.
The first thing Stackpole told him was "his mother told him he should always have clean underwear on, and he forgot to put them on that day," Giuliani said.
"His personality was bigger than life," Hizzoner said. "We need him here right now. He could stare death in the face and laugh."
In a touching letter read to mourners, Stackpole's only daughter, Kaitlyn, 14, admitted to her dad: "This past week has been the most difficult experience of my life . . . Words can't express on paper how much I love you."
The fireman's widow, Tara, was hailed by Giuliani for her bravery and faith since the attack - and she was urged to help console other families.
His oldest boy, 18, who's in the Navy, wore his military whites and saluted his father's casket.
Related:
