Charles Henry Karczewski did not have children, but he might as well have. His two dogs, Princess, a yellow Labrador, and Baby, a cocker spaniel, are devastated that he is gone, said his wife, Philomena. "Every male person that walks in the house they look at, and you see the disappointment in their eyes," she said. For comfort, they are sleeping with one of Mr. Karczewski's dirty shirts.

His dogs and his wife were only two of Mr. Karczewski's passions. He loved "that stupid trade center," as she put it, where he had worked for three years as a benefits consultant for the Aon Corporation . Every time they drove by the buildings, he would say, "I work there."

He loved to talk, and hated silence. He loved wine and the beach. He loved the stock market, even when it was on the downswing ("You never marry a stock," he liked to say), and had started a stock club.

Mr. Karczewski, 34, loved to vacation, often in adventurous ways - sky-diving, canoeing, kayaking. He had been to Italy, Bermuda and Alaska, among other places. This month, he and his wife were planning to go to Arizona. The books he had ordered about hiking the Grand Canyon arrived last week.