Craig Montano's mother Catherine sitting on his memorial bench
Plaque on Craig Montano's memorial bench
Plaque on Craig Montano's memorial bench
Craig Montano's memorial bench
Craig Montano's memorial bench
Craig Montano's memorial bench
Craig Montano's mother Catherine at his memorial bench
Sign for Magnolia Boulevard
Sign for Magnolia Boulevard
Craig Montano during his college years at Syracuse University
Craig Montano with a friend during his college years at Syracuse University
Craig Montano with family
Craig Montano with his mother Catherine and father Richard at his graduation from George W. Hewlett High School
Craig Montano with his mother Catherine as a child
Craig Montano at his graduation from George H. Hewlett High School
Craig Montano with his brothers Kevin and Richard
Craig Montano as child with his brothers Richard and Kevin
Craig Montano with his mother Catherine and brothers Richard and Kevin
Craig Montano as a young child with one of his brothers
Portrait of Craig Montano as a child
Portrait of Craig Montano as a baby
Craig Montano as a child with his brothers Richard and Kevin
Craig Montano with his mother Catherine, father Richard, and brothers Kevin and Richard on his wedding day
Craig Montano's sons Lukas and Liam in 2007
Craig Montano with his brother Kevin in the Colorado river
Craig Montano sledding in Central Park with his kids Christa and Lukas
Craig Montano with his father Richard
Craig Montano with his wife Caren and children Christa, Lukas, and Liam during Labor Day 2001
Craig Montano boogie boarding with his son Lukas
Craig Montano sledding in Central Park with his brother and nephew
Craig Montano with his mother Catherine, father Richard, and brother Richard and Kevin on his wedding day
Craig Montano with his mother Catherine, kids Lukas and Christa, and wife Caren at the hospital after Liam's birth
Craig Montano's kids Christa, Lukas, and Christa during Christmas 2002
Craig Montano's kids Christa, Lukas, and Liam in 2007
Craig Montano with family
Craig Montano with his brothers Kevin and Richard at his father Richard's 65th birthday
Craig Montano and one of his brothers with their grandmother Karen
Craig Montano sledding in Central Park with family
Craig Montano with his father Richard and mother Catherine during his time in college
Craig Montano with his son Lukas two weeks before 9/11
Craig Montano's kids Christa, Lukas, and Liam in 2005
Craig Montano toasting as best man at his brother's wedding
Craig Montano with his wife Caren cutting their wedding cake
Craig Montano with his wife Karen on their wedding day
Craig Montano's obituary
Article about a 9/11 memorial erected in Craig Montano's hometown of Glen Ridge, NY
Article about a 9/11 memorial erected in Craig Montano's hometown of Glen Ridge, NY
Craig Montano's obituary
Craig Montano's obituary
Craig Montano at his senior prom
Memorial quilt made for Craig Montano
Memorial quilt made for Craig Montano
New York City paramedics bag
Firefighter's recovered helmet
Portrait of Craig Montano
Craig Montano surfing in August 2001
Portrait of Craig Montano in college at Syracuse University
Prayer card made for Craig Montano
Prayer card made for Craig Montano
Program for the dedication of a reflection garden at Craig's high school, 12/12/2004
Program for the dedication of a reflection garden at Craig's high school, 12/12/2004
Long Island 9/11 Memorial
New Jersey Living Memorial, A Grove of Remembrance
Empty Sky: NJ State 9/11 Memorial
Queen Elizabeth II September 11 Memorial Garden
Conseleya 9/11 Memorial
Dewitt 9/11 Memorial
Montclair State University 9/11 Memorial
East Newark 9/11 Memorial
Fair Haven 9/11 Memorial
Craig Montano and his brothers were close in age and heart. Although their lives had taken them in different directions, there was nothing they liked better than vacationing with their families in one spot.
Last month, this big, happy gang got together for the last time at a campground on eastern Long Island. During the day they swam, looked for crabs, bodysurfed and hiked. At night, they squeezed into four tents.
Mr. Mantano, 38, a father of three from Glen Ridge, died Sept. 11 at One World Trade Center, where he worked for Cantor Fitzgerald as a government agency securities broker.
"We took a lot of pictures," said his oldest brother, Kevin, a lawyer in Chevy Chase, Md. "His children were all over him, and he was just beaming. When one of them wanted his attention, Craig never said, 'I'm busy right now.' He would look at his child and say, 'What do you want, Sweetpea?' To a child, that's heaven."
Mr. Montano grew up in Valley Stream, N.Y. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1984 and went straight to Wall Street, where he became a bond trader at Drexel Burnham Lambert.
In the late 1980s, when times got tough on the Wall Street, he tried other things. He created Soho Painting Concepts, a paint contracting business. He became a Master Brewer. He opened a restaurant in Lower Manhattan.
Along the way, on May 9, 1992, he married his college sweetheart, Caren Mercer Montano. Four years ago, after the birth of their second child, the couple moved from Manhattan to Glen Ridge.
When the restaurant faltered, an old friend urged Mr. Montano to return to Wall Street and join him at Cantor Fitzgerald. "Within a year, he just surpassed the 30 people at the desk, and they were co-managing the desk," said another friend, Brett Zorse.
Zorse remembers Mr. Mantano for his energy, positive attitude, and ability to take risks. But he also remembers him for his jokes, his warmth, and his ever-present smile.
Two days before a hijacked jetliner crashed into the North Tower and ended his life, Mr. Mantano and his family spent a beautiful summer afternoon at his brother-in-law's home in the Berkshires.
"He was sitting there in a wicker chair with his 9-month-old, Liam, and for some reason, I don't know why, I took a picture of them," said his brother-in-law, James J. Mercer. In it, "Craig is sitting there very proud, with the baby on his knee. Both of them have big smiles."
Profile by Mary Jo Patterson published in THE STAR-LEDGER
New York Times Portraits of Grief
Craig Montano met his wife by cutting in line. On the first day of college at Syracuse University, Caren Mercer was waiting to register. She had risen early to get a good spot. He had gotten up later, and was looking around for a convenient place to cut in. "Since he was cute, I let him," she said. They began seeing each other; they never stopped.
Mr. Montano, 38, a partner at Cantor Fitzgerald, lived in Glen Ridge, N.J., with Caren and their three children, Christa, 7, Lukas, 4, and Liam, 10 months. He had a touch of wanderlust, for he loved to pack everyone into the car and head off somewhere for the weekend, often with no notice.
He was a man of eclectic interests. At one point, he had a specialty painting business. Then he enrolled in brewers school and worked for a brewery. He opened his own restaurant, where he served beers he concocted. "He always had certain offbeat interests, and he always excelled," Mrs. Montano said. "But he always returned to family. That was his No. 1 interest.".
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