Continuing my tribute from several months ago….and ashamedly late on getting back to it….
Mr. DiFato joined the Cantor Fitzgerald team in the World Trade Center in 1988 and worked on the 101st floor of Tower One as a securities controller. His sister, Lisa Cannava, worked in the same tower just 11 floors from John. She also lost her life that day. John is survived by his parents, one grandmother, and his three children to whom he was very devoted – Anthony, Nicole, and his namesake John.
Mr. DiFato loved his family time. He would leave home very early in the morning to get to his office and whenever one of the two older kids had a test at school, their father would give them a call to wish them luck before they left for school. When they returned home from school, there was always another call to check to see how they did on the test. Besides staying in contact with his kids before and after school, he also stayed in close contact during the day with Sue. Like many couples joined at the heart, husband and wife were in constant telephone contact all day. "During the day he would be beeping me – like, where are you?" Mrs. DiFato said. Sometimes she would be running for an appointment and when she heard her beeper she would mutter, "O.K., now what?" On Sept. 11, when she learned of the attack on the World Trade Center, she tried to beep Mr. DiFato. There was no answer.
Mrs. DiFato said “He loved his children very much and often commented on how he thought each of their births was a miracle. But I think John was the miracle that made my lfe and Anthony, Nicole, and John’s lives so very special each and every day.” Mr. DiFato also took special interest in his nephew, Joseph. Mrs. DiFato also said “We always felt we were soul mates. From the beginning, we knew we had something special. There is still a connection. Even after 12 years, we were still in love with each other.”
Mr. DiFato was an avid sports enthusiast. He had taken up golf in 2000 and collected baseball cards. He frequented New York Ranger and New Jersey Devil games. He enjoyed Steven Segal action movies and watching police and legal dramas. “Every night, he had a favorite show that he had to watch,” Mrs. DiFato said. His ultimate favorite was “Bonanza” and his AOL screen name was “Hoss”. He was also an avid reader of business magazines. Mr. DiFato was a parishioner of Our Lady Star of the Sea R.C. Church, Huguenot.
The DiFatos spent a week in Disney World in July 2001 with his sister and her family. They had a wonderful trip and it was those happier memories of Disney World, trips to the circus, afternoons in the park, and anniversary celebrations that the family members found themselves clinging too in the wake of the tragedy.
Here are several comments/tributes made by Mr. DiFato’s family and friends:
Parents Teresa and Antonio DiFato: “We love him and miss him very, very much. He will always be in our hearts.”
Inlaws Gloria and Camine Giaccio: “He came into our lives and now it seems like a short time. In our own way, we loved him, and he will surely be missed.”
Mary Anne Cannava: “Two years have past now, and it is still so hard to believe that you and Lisa are gone. Rest in Peace and take care of each other. Everyone misses you and Lisa. We will never forget you. You should be proud of your family, Sue your wife is the strongest and bravest person I ever met. Your children, I cant say enough about, they are the best and you raised them well. I am sure you are looking down on them proud of who they have become. Send Lisa our love. Not a day goes by where the both of you are not thought of and missed. Give your mom and dad the strength they need to go on, for what they lost is the most tragic of them all and no parent should ever have to go through what they did. always thinking of you Brian, Mary Anne and girls
Diana Gatto: “Dear Sue, As we approach the ninth month since John was taken from you and the children, I wanted you to know that my family will always be there for your family, in love, thoughts, prayers and words. We love you, Jim, Di, James and Dom”
Loving wife Sue: “Imagine waking up every day expecting to see the man you love, gone forever from your life. There will never be enough words to describe how we feel, how we go on without him or how we live with the hole in our hearts. I I still can't believe that this tragic event happened just one year ago. The loss still feels fresh and new. Those first few days and weeks will live in my mind forever. Wondering where John was; hearing nothing and not being able to find him, I hoped and wished. The hardest thing I ever did was to tell my three children their father was not coming home. Birthdays and our anniversary were so difficult without him. At times I still see you, John, looking out our bedroom window like you did every morning. I still feel your kiss. I still feel your love. We were soulmates and had a love that would last forever. No one will ever hold that special place in my heart. I wish I had one more day to see you and tell you I love you one more time. Our family will never be the same, and you will never be forgotten. The memory of you will live on in our children's laughter, accomplishments and love for one another. “
What a great man Mr. John DiFato was. I’m sorry that I didn’t know him – I think he would have been the kind of guy that I would have enjoyed being friends with. Sue said of him “He will be forever in our hearts." Her children have given her the strength to make it through each day. "He will always be a hero in our eyes."
