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| Subject: Profiles of some of the 97 people killed in the nightclub fire | |
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Author: Rhode Island |
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Date Posted: February 24, 2003 4:59:42 EDT In reply to: Rhode Island 's message, "Partial List of Confirmed Club Fire Victims" on February 24, 2003 4:27:56 EDT JAMES GAHAN Jimmy Gahan had two loves: sports and music. Six shoulder operations forced him to give up the first, but the second continued to beat strongly. Gahan, 21, went to The Station nightclub to interview the band Great White for his show at the radio station at Nichols College in Dudley, Mass., where he was majoring in business and communications. Gahan, a fan of classic rock and country music, loved being a disc jockey, said his father, James Gahan. Jimmy Gahan played baseball, basketball and golf at Falmouth High School, and was a "phenomenal" left-handed pitcher before his injuries, his father said. ___ ANDREW R. HOBAN Andrew Hoban wasn't the fastest guy on the Catholic Youth Organization basketball and baseball teams, but his dedication and sunny disposition were indispensable, his coach said. Hoban, 22, of North Kingstown, "was the kind of guy you never really noticed, but he was the backbone of those teams," Richard Lamendola said. "When he stepped to the plate, you knew you were going to get some action." Hoban graduated in May from the University of Rhode Island with a major in political science, and was working in personal finance. ___ DALE LATULIPE Dale Latulipe was creating a staccato beat before he could walk, starting with banging spoons on a table. "Like Mozart played the piano at 3, he played drums," said his father, Donald Latulipe of Randolph, Mass. Dale Latulipe, 46, loved rock music, especially Aerosmith. His father laughs when he recalls the time his son and some friends dressed up like the band KISS--wild makeup and skintight pants _ and dropped by the office where he worked. He lived with his ex-wife in Carver, Mass., and ran a used car lot in Wareham, his father said. Their 7-year-old son, Dustin, is the spitting image of his father, right down to the drum-playing, Donald Latulipe said. ___ STEPHEN M. LIBERA Stephen Libera juggled jobs as a bank teller and a steakhouse server as he took classes at Community College of Rhode Island, with hopes of one day becoming an accountant. Libera, 21, was "always levelheaded under pressure" when things got hectic at the Longhorn Steakhouse in Warwick, manager Gary McCauley said. He also was good for a joke to lift co-workers' spirits, he added. Libera told a few employees about the upcoming Great White show. "He liked to go see live music a lot," McCauley said. ___ JUDITH MANZO Judy Manzo's vivaciousness was impossible to resist, her friends say. "Even if somebody was angry or yelling or upset, she always saw the good in them," said Karen Brown, Manzo's friend and manager at the East Providence branch of First Choice Medical Staffing, where Manzo was an administrative assistant. "She always had something positive to say." Manzo, 37, lived in North Providence with her ex-husband and their two children, ages 10 and 12. The children and their father were home when Manzo went to the concert with a friend, Brown said. ___ KATHERINE O'DONNELL Katherine O'Donnell, a medical assistant, was just out for a fun night with her friends, her brother said. "She was just very outgoing, very pleasant," Patrick O'Donnell said. "She was a beautiful, beautiful girl." Katherine O'Donnell, 26, of Seekonk, Mass., had a sister and five doting, protective brothers. She enjoyed spending time with her family, friends and a puppy she got a few months ago. ___ ROBERT REISNER Last year was rough for Robert Reisner's family--his mother was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and they were left homeless for a time. But he was there to help out. "There was a time when I could not walk for three months," said his mother, Judy O'Brien. "All the kids--especially him - helped me. He was always there." It looked like things were turning around. Reisner, 29, of Coventry, had to give up his truck-driving job because the manual transmission was too much for his arthritic knees, but he settled in to a job driving a bus with an automatic transmission. With his mother and two brothers in better financial shape, Reisner treated himself to the Great White show. He bought a ticket as soon as they went on sale. "He went to Wal-Mart to buy a new outfit," his mother said. "He just couldn't wait." ___ DONALD RODERIQUES The tattoos earned him the nickname "Inky." And some people said 46-year-old Donald Roderiques looked like Steven Tyler, the lead singer of the band Aerosmith. Roderiques, of Mainpawanik, Mass., worked as a maintenance worker at an apartment complex, said his sister, Karen Cousineau. Roderiques, a big rock 'n' roll fan, had plans to see Great White at The Station as early as New Year's Eve, his sister said. ___ JOSEPH ROSSI Joseph Rossi, 35, of Seekonk, Mass., loved his Harley-Davidson and having a good time. "He was always smiling," said Luanne Rossi, no relation, who also lives in Seekonk but met Joseph at a retreat for Harley enthusiasts in upstate New York two years ago. "The first thing I remember him saying to me was 'Sit on my bike because you'll look good on it.' "He was just a really good, fun-loving guy," she said. ___ BRIDGET SANETTI Bridget Sanetti, who worked with troubled students at Hillsdale Alternative School in Woonsocket, was a caring teacher with an eye for fashion. "She could have made a lot more money doing something else, but that was where Bridget's heart was," said her mother, Annmarie Swidwa. Bridget, 25, of Coventry, wasn't a big fan of Great White, but she went to the show with her best friend and her uncle to get a kick out of "all those people stuck in the '80s," her mother said. Swidwa said her companions chided her for dressing up in nice jeans, high-heeled black boots and "all the right jewelry" for the show. "She was a very good dresser," she said. Bridget's friend was missing. Her uncle, Ricky Sanetti, survived and helped pull people from the flames, Swidwa said. ___ DENNIS SMITH Dennis Smith taught himself how to ride a unicycle when he was 5 years old. Later he wowed the neighborhood kids by dressing up as a clown. "He tried to jump the curb and do tricks. And they would clap for him," said his mother, Doris Smith. Dennis, 36, did occasional landscaping jobs and was an avid pool player who lived with his mother in Pawtucket. Dennis Smith wasn't a big music fan, she said, but he accepted an extra ticket to the Great White concert. He went to the show with a friend whose whereabouts weren't immediately known. ___ SHAWN SWEET Shawn Sweet, an assistant manager at a supermarket, enjoyed skiing and running the Boston Marathon. Sweet, 28, of Pembroke, Mass., "lived life to the fullest," his family said in an obituary notice. A woman who answered the telephone at Sweet's parents' home in Pembroke said she was too distraught to talk. "All I can say is he was a wonderful boy and we miss him," she said. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
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