Sir Knight Tom Varkados leads The St. Mary of Huntley Knights of Columbus Council in Honoring the Memory of a Knight Who Perished in the 9/11 Attacks.

Sir Knight Tom Varkados (center) and his wife Kim present a flag to Robert Fitzsimons (right) honoring his brother, Fire Safety Inspector Richard Fitzsimons, who perished in the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers in New York 10 years ago, while Tom’s daughters Olivia (left) and Stephanie next to Mom, Kim, look on, during a ceremony held at St. Mary of Huntley Church October 11, 2011.

At a ceremony held at St. Mary of Huntley Catholic Church on October 11, 2011, local resident and Knight Tom Varkados and his family led the St. Mary of Huntley Knights of Columbus Council #11666 in honoring Fire Safety Inspector Richard Fitzsimons, who perished in the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers in New York 10 years ago.  The Knights presented a flag which was part of the Carpentersville Healing Memorial Field where flags dedicated to those who perished in the attacks 10 years ago.  The flag was presented to Richard’s brother, Sun City resident and St. Mary’s parishioner, Robert Fitzsimons.

Tom and his wife, Kim, personally knew someone lost in the attack.  At the presentation, Tom spoke of his family remembering those lost in the 9/11 attacks.  .

“My family, like many of you, learned of Richard’s life and accomplishments as  Bob spoke lovingly, and proudly of him, at the 9/11 Commemorative Mass here at St Mary.

As Bob spoke, there were few dry eyes in the Church, including mine, and when he was through, those present afforded him a well-deserved standing ovation for sharing with us the love and pride he has for his brother.

Later that day, we visited the Carpentersville Healing Memorial Field, and saw an impressive display of over 2000 American flags, dedicated to those fallen on 9/11. Each flag had a placard with the honoree’s name and some few nice words about them. We looked for and found Richard’s flag and this is what his placard said:

Richard Fitzsimons kept his Irish roots well watered. For him, a visit to Ireland was going home, said Colleen, his daughter. He last saw Dublin in the summer, when he ate, drank, and danced for 13 hours to celebrate a niece’s wedding. At home, he kept busy. In his job as a fire safety inspector at the World Trade Center, he conducted drills and planned evacuations. He was, Ms. Fitzsimons said, almost certainly “saving people right from the start.”

When the World Trade Center was bombed in 1993, it took nearly nine hours to evacuate both towers, a timeframe to act no one was afforded on 9/11. I think we would all agree that Richard’s preparation and planning in the time leading up to the second attack may have indeed saved un-told thousands of lives.

Richard was also a Brother Knight in the Third Degree, so it’s with that spirit of brotherhood, it gives me great pleasure to present this Commemorative Flag to Robert and his family on behalf of the St. Mary Knights of Columbus.”