

At 41, Robert Fazio Jr. was still single. People would ask him when he was going to marry. But the pressure of society's conventions, said his sister, Carole Lovero, could not affect his decisions.



"He was a happy person, he was happy within himself," she said. "He would have gotten married if he had found the right person, but he was happy doing what he was doing."



What he was doing, outside of his job as a patrolman for the New York Police Department, was working on motorcycles, cars, boats and houses for anybody who needed a hand. "Half my neighbors, he fixed their cars," said Officer Fazio's father, Robert Sr. Shortly after he got his driver's license, Robert Fazio Jr. could be seen on the weekend in front of the family's house in South Hempstead, on Long Island, hoisting engines in and out of cars with the help of a sturdy tree limb.



He had worked for the Police Department for 17 years and was called from his precinct in the East 20's on Sept. 11 to help people out of the shopping plaza beneath the World Trade Center. He had less than three years to go until retirement, his father said, and planned on setting up a motorcycle and car repair shop somewhere near his home in Freeport, N.Y., with a friend from junior high school, Gino Lanza. But though he had no children of his own, he spent as much time as he could baby-sitting for his nephew, Michael Lovero, and friends' children, who nicknamed him the Tickle Monster

- The New York Times 3/24/2002



Robert Fazio loved two things, his job and fast machines.



"He loved cars and motorcycles ... fixing them and having them," said Carol Lovero, his sister.



It was his love for them- he owned a pickup truck and a Harley-Davidson bike -- and his helpful disposition -- that others knew the 41-year-old New York City police officer for, his sister said.



It was not unusual for him to change the brakes on a neighbor's car or to help someone stuck on the side of the road because their car broke down. "He would always go out of his way to help others," she said. "I can't count the times he helped me out. But never asked for help back."



A 17-year police veteran, Fazio was the community officer at the 13th Precinct on East 21st Street, where he spent the majority of his career. He grew up in South Hempstead and graduated from South Side High School in Rockville Centre in 1978. Recently, he lived near the water in Freeport, where he could be close to his other passion -- boating.



Fazio was on his regular tour with another 13th Precinct officer, Moira Smith, when they spotted the first plane hitting the towers. Smith called in the information, and then she and Fazio headed back to the nearby precinct to interview witnesses. Within the hour, they were at the site of the World Trade Center, where the two officers were last seen before the buildings collapsed.



- New York Newsday Victim Database 9/27/2001



Police Officer Robert Fazio, 41, was appointed to the NYPD on July 16 1984, and began his career on patrol in Neighborhood Stabilization Unit 18. Prior to becoming a police officer, he worked as an auto mechanic and an electrician. Besides the 13 Precinct, he also worked in Patrol Borough Manhattan South, the Technical Assistance Response Unit(TARU), and the Property Clerk Division. At the time of his death he was enrolled at St. Joseph's College, where he was taking classes related to law enforcement. He also loved cars, boating, motorcycling and fishing. PO Fazio is survied by his parents Felicia and Robert; sister Carole; brother-in-law Marc; and nephews Joseph and Michael. - SPRING 3100, Commemorative Issue







(patch created by a volunteer for the

CubScout Pack 233 Memorial American Flag Quilt)

(patch from Barnum Woods Elementary School Quilt)



