This two part series highlights a selection of the diverse love stories in the 9/11 Memorial Museum's audio collection. Drawn from longer oral histories, an edited portion of audio is selected to play in the memorial exhibition. Below are the stories of two 9/11 victims as described by their loved ones.

Howard & Granvilette Kestenbaum
Newark native Howard Kestenbaum lived in Montclair, N.J. with his wife Granvilette. The two had a grown daughter. He worked as a senior vice president at Aon Corporation. On Sept. 11, he was at his office on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center’s South Tower.

Granvilette Kestenbaum remembers special moments in their marriage:
"Howard, at heart, was always an astrophysicist. He got his PhD in astrophysics but then, some years later, switched to business. There is a site on the Internet where you can find out what’s happening in the skies at any given moment. And for Howard, what was happening in the skies was always in the dead of winter when it was cold. Whatever he wanted was there at three o’clock in the morning. Howard wanted to share this with me, so usually we would be out there from about one thirty, one forty-five, until three o’clock, in the freezing cold, waiting for this phenomenon. I learned not to say I could not see the phenomenon through the telescope, because then I had to stand there until he adjusted this telescope until I could see. I learned, after the third time, that what I should do is to say, 'Yes, I see it! It is wonderful! Oh, yeah! I can see the cloud of those! I can see it shooting! I know that’s a planet. I know that’s Jupiter,' and we got to go inside much quicker, and we stayed married."

Dorothy and Nicholas Chiarchiaro
Dorothy Chiarchiaro grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. A date on a street called Love Lane led to 37 years with her husband, Nicholas. They lived in Glenwood, NJ, and raised two children. Chiarchiaro was an administrative assistant at Fred Alger Management, where her niece, Dolores Costa, was a vice president. On Sept. 11, the two were at work on the 93rd floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower.

Nicholas Chiarchiaro remembers when he fell in love with his wife:
"I’m on my way to my girlfriend’s house to give her her Christmas gifts, and I stopped in to give my cousin, Rose, a kiss for Christmas, and I did so, and Dorothy was there, and—stunning as you are, my dear, with those beautiful legs. And you asked me for a kiss, and I said, 'Sure,' and my face went one way, and yours went the other, and our lips met. Well, honey, you know what happened to me. I fell so deeply in love in moments, it was just unbelievable—I don’t know how I was able to stand. I drove to my girlfriend’s house, gave her her Christmas gifts, and said, 'I’m sorry. I have to leave. I just fell in love with someone,' and all I left was a stunned young lady at the doorway. Well, for three months, I drove my cousin, Rose, crazy, and all she kept saying, 'Dammit, would you please call her?' And you know, honey, what happened. I finally did. And when you got on the phone, and I asked you if you’d like to just go for a ride, or say 'hello,' and you very calmly said to me, 'Hey Nick, what took you so long?'"

Remembrances Told by Loved Ones of 9/11 Victims (Part 1)

This two part series highlights a selection of the diverse love stories in the 9/11 Memorial Museum's audio collection. Drawn from longer oral histories, an edited portion of audio is selected to play in the memorial exhibition. Below are the stories of two 9/11 victims as described by their loved ones. 

Alena Sesinova & Barbara Cattano
Alena Sesinova was born in 1944 in Czechoslovakia and immigrated to the United States as a young woman. She settled in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. with her partner, Barbara Cattano. Sesinova studied English and worked while completing a computer science degree. On Sept. 11, she was on the 96th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center at Marsh & McLennan, where she worked as a systems analyst.

Cattano remembers when they first met:
"We fell in love almost instantly. We met for brunch. I guess it was a Saturday that we had brunch and Monday morning, there was a dozen red roses at my office from her and that was that. I still remember what she wore that day, believe it or not, after, I don’t know how many, 28 years, but it was just that look, her eyes, and that wonderful smile. And when she looked at me, and she had that smile—it was over. Or just beginning, maybe—maybe that’s what it was. And we were together for 22 years, or actually, one month short of 22 years."

Norman & Susan Rossinow
Norman Rossinow lived in Cedar Grove, N.J. with his wife Susan and was working as a senior vice president at Aon Corporation. On Sept. 11, he was working on the 105th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

Susan Rossinow remembers their early courtship:
"He answered my personal ad in a local Jewish newspaper. And when I called him, I said, 'Look, if you’re not normal, just tell me now.' And he said, 'How do I know if you’re normal?' And so we decided to meet without wondering who was the normal one. And then our third date, he cooked me dinner, which more or less sewed up the whole relationship. I was coming to his house for dinner, and I had my windows open, and I could hear music really loud playing as I came up the street and somebody drumming. And that was Norman. And when I walked in the door, I found him drumming away, and it was lovely. That’s how he introduced me to him playing the drums, but you could hear him down the block. He loved music—any type of music—he was very diversified in his choices. From rappers to jazz singers, you name it, he found a song that he liked."

Remembrances Told by Loved Ones of 9/11 Victims (Part 2)