A wife remembers Frank Bonomo

Frank Bonomo, 42, of Port Jefferson was part of the New York City Fire Department's Engine 230 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He was last seen in the south tower.

A wife remembers

Bonomo had been with the fire department for 17 years and was a few years shy of retiring. That would have given him more time to pursue the TV and video repair business he had on the side.

He would have been able to spend even more time with his two young children, a son, then 4, and daughter, then 1. And he would have been able to play more golf -- which he did every moment he could, passionately and competently.

Bonomo's wife, Margarite, initially didn't believe her husband would go into the World Trade Center towers. "He was a big jokester. He would always say, 'There's no way I would go in there' " when the subject of going into burning buildings came up, she said.

But friends told her later that was his way of protecting her and their children. "To realize he actually went in when push came to shove -- he went in there. You think you know somebody," she said. "It's a thing to be proud of. I say to the kids he was a hero; he could have run the other way."

The past decade has taught her a lot, Bonomo said. "My friends said, 'You know, you used to be pretty high strung.' I have changed so much," she said. "Things get put in perspective."

She is engaged to "a wonderful man named Jay" and her children are doing well. She remains close to her husband's family, who has embraced the new man in her life. "This is where I am supposed to be." -- Ridgely Ochs