The victims were young and old, grandparents and young fathers and, in one case, little boys not yet in school. The water rushed into homes, knocking down walls and pulling parents outside to drown. Others were electrocuted when live wires met the water in which they stood.

Elsewhere in the city, neighborhoods hard hit by Sandy are rebounding, and at street level, Staten Island is no different. To walk through Midland Beach is to hear the chugging and whining of backhoes and power tools and the pounding of hammers as contractors rebuild.

But relatives of those who died described gaps in their own reckoning with loss. Some remain haunted by what they imagine about the end. Others still feel an uncomfortable frustration toward their loved one who died — why didn’t he evacuate? Or why did she wait until the last moment?

Walter Colborne, the 89-year-old father, and his wife, Marie Colborne, 66, were active retirees in the Great Kills neighborhood, traveling on cruise ships and taking regular outings in their yacht they kept at a dock near their home. Mrs. Colborne, like her husband, had been married before, and with that in mind, they named the yacht “One More Time.” They once spent a month navigating the Atlantic to visit children in Florida, and another month coming home.

Image Walter 89, and Marie Colborne, 66, who were active retirees in the Great Kills neighborhood, died in the storm. “We still want to think in our minds that they were together, holding hands,” a granddaughter said.

Mr. Colborne was a World War II veteran who had fought in Europe. He was fearless, said his daughter, Christine Colborne, 64, of Fort Myers, Fla. Their children were concerned, but not surprised, when the couple said they were riding out Sandy in their apartment.