A memorial page for Jeffrey Palazzo.
Rye Rangers Memorial c
List of Westchester Country Club Invitational Winners
Tribute to Thomas
A group holding a "Team Clare 2000" after a fundraising swim.
Habitat for Humanity golf tournament
Thomas and his wife Lisa
Friends and family
Childhood birthday celebration
Family
Thomas with family
Thomas with his daughters and dog
Family picture
Thomas and his daughter
Habitat for Humanity golf tournament
Thomas's boat
Thomas and Lisa
Thomas and Lisa at the beach
Westchester Country Club
Hollywood Flag Memorial
The Rising Westchester County 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
Freehold Township 9/11 Living Memorial Tree Grove
Crescent Beach Park - Flagpole/Memorial for 9/11 Victims
Tom Palazzo was enthusiastic about many things, athletics and charities among them.
He was scheduled to have knee surgery on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, but he postponed the surgery for later that week in order to play in a charity golf outing for Habitat For Humanity on Monday, Sept. 10.
"He changed his mind the last minute," his wife, Lisa, said. "He was thinking of not going (to the golf event)."
So Tom Palazzo played golf on Monday and the next day went to work at Cantor Fitzgerald at the World Trade Center.
Now Habitat For Humanity dedicates a house to him at its annual outing and, of course, Palazzo's name has been attached to other charitable endeavors, as well.
For about five years there was the Thomas Palazzo Memorial high school lacrosse games between his hometown of Rye and his kids' school, Byram Hills.
Palazzo was one of several 9/11 victims who had been involved in Rye hockey programs, and a tournament was created in their honor.
At the Brewster Academy, where Palazzo went to school after Harrison High, a memorial scholarship and an athletic field were both named in his honor.
And Westchester Country Club, where Palazzo and his friend George Morell - another 9/11 victim - used to swim, hosted a Palazzo/Morell Invitational. Swim Across America, which raises money for cancer research, began a fellowship at Columbia University in his name.
New York Times Portraits of Grief
Thomas Palazzo was perpetually in a rush, but only because there was so much he longed to do.
At 5, he harassed another boy, Mark Morell, for holding up the water fountain line at the Westchester Country Club. "We were friends ever since," Mr. Morell said. "Tommy would basically tell me what we were doing every minute of the day."
Mr. Palazzo, 44, typically rose at 4 a.m. and headed to the gym, where he would furiously pedal his favorite exercise bike. He prized his 23-foot boat, a Mako, and it was not unusual for him to indulge in a 5 a.m. water-skiing or fishing trip on Long Island Sound. Yet he always got to his desk at Cantor Fitzgerald by 8:30.
"He would shower on the dock with a hose, then hop on a train," Mr. Morell said. "He ran like a clock."
Mr. Palazzo, who lived in Armonk, N.Y., also coached lacrosse and golfed, skied and snowboarded. He whisked his wife, Lisa, and three daughters off to Nantucket every summer. In the winter, they spent weekends on the slopes of Stratton, Vt. "You know how they say, `He who dies with the most toys wins'?" Mr. Morell said. "That was Tommy. He had a big energy level and a big heart."
Yesterday was 9/11.
Yesterday was 9/11.
14 years later.
Yet there is still a stinging pain in my heart when I reflect on those events. I lost no one close to me, but my tears still flow. God bless the families who face this day with the memory of a loved one lost. I am so very sorry.
Posted by Donna B Jones
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