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In Memory of David Berray

The life of David M. Berray, a dapper businessman and a devoted, tirelessly energetic family man, was ended on September the 11th, 2001. He lives on in the heart of his wife, Alison, and his daughter Lauren and son Lachlan.

While he still had his life, David lived it to the fullest, with a sense of joy and tremendous energy. He was a classy guy who liked Sinatra, scotch, and swing dancing. He had recently climbed Mount Fuji with Alison. Here's a wonderful tribute to him at the Yale Daily News.

He was attending the Waters Financial Technology Conference at the top of WTC 1, the North Tower, in the Windows on the World restaurant. Windows was the highest-grossing restaurant in the United States, bringing in nearly $38 million in 2000. The Falling Man, who may have been Jonathan Briley, jumped from Windows on the World to his death to escape the smoke and flames.

David Berray was the chief operating officer at MoneyLine, an internet financial services provider.

A proud David Berray with his beautiful family:


He didn't work in the World Trade Center, but amazingly, he was also in the lobby of the building in 1993 when its underground garage was truck-bombed by Islamic terrorists, and he managed to escape without injury. 6 people were killed and over a thousand people were injured in that attack.

The New York Times published the following profile of him:

David M. Berray had a "to do" list that was extraordinary, his wife, Alison Berray, said.

"He'd write down everything from taking out the trash to fly fishing on the Housatonic River in Connecticut to climbing Mt. Fuji. He'd get up very early in the morning and start the list."

Mr. Berray managed to accomplish just about all of the things he planned. The Berrays spent five years in Hong Kong and they rarely passed an idle moment.

They boated down the Mekong River, fished in Canton and hiked in Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. Once they went to New Zealand, where the summer days stretch dangerously long.

"Giving David 16 hours a day of sunlight was exhausting," Mrs. Berray said.

"It would be ten o'clock at night, the sun would still be up and David would ask, 'What do you want to do next?' "

Despite his abundant energy, Mr. Berray, 39, managed to take time off to stay home when each of his two children were born.

He had earned a master's degree from M.I.T. in technology management in 2000 and after a dozen years in banking, became chief operations officer for MoneyLine, an Internet based financial services company.

On Sept. 11, he was attending a technology seminar at Windows on The World.

David Berray was a man of many interests.

He designed and built a flagstone terrace for his parents. He planned to read a historical novel about each of the nation's presidents.

He graduated from two prestigious master's degree programs -- one focused on finance and the other on technology management.

He climbed Mount Fuji and went fly-fishing in Australia and Canada. He took paternity leave when his children -- daughter Lauren, 3, and son Lachlan, 1, -- were born.

He liked to say he would rather beg for forgiveness than ask for permission.

Berray, 39, was the younger of two brothers. He lived in Manhattan with his wife of 12 years, Alison, and their children.

He left his job as business manager overseeing operations in 12 Asian countries for a banking company to become the chief operating officer for MoneyLine, an Internet financial-services provider.

He was attending a business seminar in the Windows on the World restaurant atop the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

"He lived everyday to the fullest," Alison said. "Work was work. Then he came home to his family and books and friends."