Christian DeSimone ’00 overslept on September 11, 2001, and rushed to the train station without his lunch, so his mother called his cell phone offering to bring him the lunch. He told her not to trouble herself; he would pick up something later.
The 23-year-old arrived at the Marsh & McLennan offices, located on the 100th floor of Tower One of the World Trade Center where he worked as a forensic accountant. Shortly after 9 a.m., one of the hijacked planes hit the building, killing Chris and 294 of his colleagues. His remains have never been found.
“My son was kind, sweet, and very respectful; he never gave us a day of trouble,” says Christel DeSimone, noting that Chris, a linebacker for the Rams football team, handed in his uniform after his father died to concentrate on his studies and to help his mother and sister Martina at home in Ringwood, N.J.
Christel established the Christian L. DeSimone Fund for study in German or accounting and held a memorial golf tournament this summer to build an endowed scholarship. Christel, a native of Germany, notes that Chris was fluent in the language and studied it at the University.
“My son loved URI,” says Christel. “We all did. My husband once joked that he wished he could repeat his college days, only this time he would go to URI.” Christel has visited the University several times since Chris’ death. “I like to walk around the campus. I feel a great connection.”
Chris DeSimone was one of five members of the URI family who died on September 11, 2001. Michael McGinty, M.B.A. ’91, an insurance broker of Marsh USA, was at a meeting at the World Trade Center. Frank Schott Jr. ’83, assistant vice president for technology at Marsh & McLennan, was on the 96th floor of One World Trade Center. Lynn Edwards Angell, M.L.S. ’77, and her husband, David, creator, writer, and executive producer of TV’s Wings and Frasier, were flying from Boston to Los Angeles for business. Christine Barbuto ’90, a buyer for the TJX Companies, and five of her colleagues were also flying to Los Angeles on business.
Spencer Martin, his accounting professor, remembers Chris. “We spent 14 days on a student bus trip visiting companies in Germany,” he says. “Chris was the leader of the group since he had been to Germany to visit family. He frequently asked me if he could help me with my bags at the hotels. He would also check on other students after a night on the town. He was a very capable, very bright, friendly, caring young man.”
By Jan Wenzel ’87
