The Lost

By Thomas Maier | STAFF WRITER; Los Angeles Times; Associated Press; Combined Wire Services; John Boell

September 17, 2001

FOR THE LOVED ones of those confirmed dead in the World Trade Center disaster, there was no day of rest, no moment of peace from the awful news. Sunday was spent making funeral arrangements, consoling the living, and thinking of those still missing. The lives of these victims were filled with moments of heroism- such as the firefighters who gave their lives in an attempt to save others - or in demonstrating everyday acts of courage - the kind needed to run a business, to keep a family together or to dream

of a better life. Unlike the craven acts of anonymous assassins, their lives speak volumes about what was lost in the tragedy, and of a fate described by Shakespeare: "Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once."

Among those confirmed dead in the terrorist attacks:

Son Helped Dad Build

Stock Trading Firm

Until Tuesday, Michael J. Pascuma Jr., of Massapequa formed an inseparable pair with his father, a legendary figure at the American Stock Exchange whose career dates to the Wall Street market crash of 1929 and who survived the D-Day invasion in World War II.

Together, the father-son team ran their own independent stock-trading firm MJP Securities inside the American Stock Exchange, a short distance from the World Trade Center. They embodied a can-do entrepreneurial spirit admired by many.

"It's like any other mutual partnership," Michael Jr. explained to a business publication last year. "Each person helps the other. We both have the same philosophies about our customers, and we always try to do the right thing."

On Tuesday morning, his 92-year-old father started the morning at the exchange, just as he has for years. But Pascuma went over to the World Trade Center to attend a business conference breakfast at Windows on the World, the stylish restaurant on the 107th floor of Tower One. Pascuma, who celebrated his 50th birthday in January, has not been seen since.

Pascuma's family, which includes his wife, Linda, and three children, Melissa, Michael and Christopher, made arrangements for his burial at the Massapequa Funeral Home in Massapequa Park. Along with his father, Pascuma is survived by his mother, Ada, 89.

"My uncle is devastated," said Pascuma's cousin, Dianne Clynes. "Michael was an only child, born late in life for my uncle. It was great for them to work together. My uncle lived for his son and their firm. We're all a very close family."

During the early 1970s, when the market was poor, the elder Pascuma had to lay off his young son, who then worked as a clerk. Michael found a job with another firm. "Those were very lean years, and there was no business," Michael recalled last year. "So there is no nepotism in this business."

When business improved a few years later, and his father was able to buy out the company's partners, he rehired his son and bought him a seat on the Amex. Since then, MJP Securities has flourished and become renowned on Wall Street. Recently it merged with another trading firm. -Thomas Maier

Fire Captain

Did What He Loved

New York Fire Capt. Daniel Brethel, 44, was supposed to be off duty Tuesday, but he answered the call and was among the hundreds of firefighters who responded to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Brethel, who served with Ladder Co. 24 at 132 W. 31st Street, was killed when Tower Two collapsed less than an hour after a passenger jet slammed into it. "He died doing what he loved to do," said a cousin, Thomas Brethel. Daniel Brethel is survived by his wife, Carol, and two daughters, Meghan and Kristen. -Los Angeles Times

Exec on Flight 11 Would

Have Had a Bible Open

Jeff Mladenik, 43, of Hinsdale, Ill., interim CEO of eLogic, was on American Flight 11. Mladenik, an associate pastor of Christ Church in Oak Brook, Ill., frequently traveled from Boston to Los Angeles on business. "He used his airplane time as his Bible time," said Bill Girignani, a Chicago lawyer who knew Mladenik. "And I'm sure Jeff would have had that Bible open when the plane was being hijacked, and he would have been talking to those other passengers and praying with them." Mladenik taught classes at the church. "I can guarantee he would tell us that hatred and bitterness must not have the last word," Christ Church pastor Daniel Meyer said. Mladenik's survivors include his wife, Sue, and four children. -Associated Press

A Kiss and Then Goodbye