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I remember the day September 11, 2001 very clearly. I had my first son, Alexander, exactly 11 days before. I was home on Maternity Leave. My parents were with us to help. Angelo was at work. My parents were listening to the news and I was in bed with the baby. When my mom ran up to tell me that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center, I could hardly credit what she was saying! My next thought went out to Angelo’s brother. He always got off at the World Trade Center stop and walked to his office, which is close by. I called Angelo and we started trying to reach him and his wife. We were very blessed that day. He had a very early morning meeting that day. He was already at work and safe when tragedy struck. James’ family was not that lucky…

James perished in the World Trade Center along with sixty-six of his colleagues at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc.. James was in his office on the 89th floor of the south tower, when the north tower was struck by one of the hijacked airliners. He e-mailed colleagues at Bloomberg to say he was OK and called his mother, leaving a message with his younger brother that he was safe.

Joanne Waters saw the second jet strike the south tower live on television. “I’ve been devastated ever since,” she said. –Hartford Courant

James Thomas Waters Jr. was born in Danbury, Connecticut, and grew up in Litchfield, where his mother, Joanne Waters, lives. He also leaves a younger brother and sister.

His co-worker Jeffrey M. Zwirn remembers that Waters loved golf and going to the Hamptons, where he enjoyed sitting on the beach, reading his Barron’s financial news magazines.

His neighbors on the Upper East Side, Barbara and George Kovacs, remembered how “smashing” he looked when he set out each weekday for his job as senior vice president specializing in trading and sales of fixed income products.

“We will miss our positive, sweet, handsome neighbor,” they said in a letter to his mother.

Waters was a graduate of George Washington University and had worked at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods since 1997.

“There’s no question about it. He was enjoying a tremendous amount of success,” Zwirn said.

Joanne Waters said her son, who was single, was “honest and noble,” if a bit on the quiet side.

I have not been able to find much online about James Waters Jr. but what I read from friends and co-workers that signed the guestbook, he was a kind, loving and generous person and family man. He may have driven an old car but he gave up his job to help a friend in a quest. He was not married but he gave of his time and money to help his little nephew when he was injured and could not play baseball. His smile and joy for life seems to be the one thing everyone remembers about him. Everyone was happy to know him.

James, Jimmy, Watts, Muddy - You are today and will always be in our hearts!

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