Eulogy by wife Theresa Cove for husband James
Theresa's expression of remembrance and gratitude
Jim always wanted a water garden so after 9/11 Theresa had one built for their yard in his honor. This is much bigger and grander than he would have created himself. She has several KOI fish that are over 1 foot in length- they recently gave birth to several new KOI- some she will have to give away as the pond isn't large enough to support them all- they stay in the water over the winter and go to the bottom where she thinks they "Hibernate"
Front page of the invitation to the dedication Ceremony for Jim's Garden. Drawing was done by Jim summer of 2001
Invitation to the dedication Ceremony for Jim's Garden. Drawing was done by Jim summer of 2001
Cover of Memorial Book made by Molloy College
"We Care" Molloy College memorial Book
Rockville Centre, NY Village Green
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
Freehold Township 9/11 Living Memorial Tree Grove
Crescent Beach Park - Flagpole/Memorial for 9/11 Victims
James Cove of Rockville Centre was one of the quiet ones, his penchant for acerbic one-liners notwithstanding. A senior vice president at Aon Corp., he was a steadfast man of 48, whose green eyes took notice and whose ears listened.
Even as a child growing up in Flatbush, “Jimmy took a lot in,” said his sister, Regina Martin of Lynbrook. The youngest of three, he was an altar boy and a Boy Scout who “just always put himself out for people … he was very dependable,” his sister said.
Adulthood didn’t change that. In the midst of his counterculture phase, Cove went to Woodstock. “He looked the part, he had the long sideburns and all,” said his sister.
His focus helped him woo his future wife, Theresa. They met in 1981 in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. He was interested. She wasn’t.
But their love snuck up on her. “He was just so even, so steady and so genuine,” she said. “I didn’t know how funny he was,” she told a friend after a 1983 date, where he squired her to his company softball game and dinner.
That night was a turning point in their relationship — soon after, they got serious, they got married, and they moved to Long Island, where they would raise three sons. Cove, ever observant, pegged the night as an important one and saved the $55 check from dinner as a memento.
A Mr. Fix-It type, Cove settled happily into fatherhood and home ownership. He taught his boys — Michael, now 16, Ryan, 13, and Greg, 9 — how to ski, took them sailing, and molded them into miniature Rangers fans. And as they grew older, he was there for them, and he would listen. “They could rely on him for that,” his wife said.
Cove was killed in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, where he worked on the 103rd Floor of the south tower. In addition to his wife, children and sister, he is survived by his mother, Margaret Cove, and his brother, Frank Cove, both of Lynbrook.
Faith has helped sustain the Coves. Theresa Cove watches for the small signs that tell her that her husband is watching. And her mother-in-law “just takes things and places them in God’s hands,” said Regina Martin. “She feels he’s in a better place.” — Jennifer Smith
New York Times Portraits of Grief
James E. Cove loved happy hour, but even when he traveled on business to a pub-besotted place like Dublin, happy hour meant going to the local department store and selecting gifts for his three boys, Michael, Ryan and Gregory.
"That was Jim's version of happy hour," said his wife, Theresa. "He deliberated over every aspect of the gift to make sure it was just right for the child and for the family budget." That is not to suggest that he was a teetotaler. "Jim loved his beer," she said. "He would work hard in the backyard and suck down two Coronas with the lime in them."
Mr. Cove, 48, was a senior vice president at Aon Insurance, an avid fan of skiing and hockey. He had such a wicked sense of humor that it was said "he could break up a high Mass with a one-liner."
His successes in the insurance business were many, but he kept those achievements in perspective. "The pride he had in his family outshone the success he had in business," his brother Frank said. "Jimmy was more proud of being a good father than being a senior vice president."
Rest in peace James
Rest in peace James
Posted by "K"
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