My high school alumni newsletter came, and noted the death of a classmate. I Googled around and came up with a story on his death from my old hometown newspaper, from late July:
YONKERS — Timothy Langer, who lost his pregnant wife in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, died Monday of liver failure at age 34.
His family is calling him an indirect victim of the attacks.
“He didn’t quite know how to plug back into life,” his brother, Thomas Langer, 35, said. “He had big shoulders that he carried all that pain with — and I say that’s poison. In my opinion, that’s what killed him.”
Elaine Langer, his mother, said the death of his wife and unborn child destroyed her son.
“He was happy, he was well-adjusted. He just couldn’t cope with the pain. He self-medicated,” she said yesterday amid funeral preparations. “He was a wonderful kid. He was the life of the party. Everyone would talk to him, and then they would go away happy. Unfortunately, Timmy just carried all that pain. He couldn’t get rid of it.”
Langer, who ran in [sic] Internet business, called his mother every morning and every night to see how she was, she said tearfully. “You don’t get too many sons like that. He was a sweet, sweet kid.”
In his early 20s, Langer suffered a catastrophic motorcycle accident that left him paralyzed below the chest. Doctors gave him a 2 percent chance of recovery, his mother said. But with hope and determination, he learned to walk again.
Last I had heard of Langer was when I heard about the motorcycle accident, so it’s good to hear he had gotten things going his way, for a while, anyway.
I’m surprised we have not seen more of these types of obits. I hope Mr. Langer has found the peace that has eluded him since Sept 11th.
What a sad story. I really believe grief is so deadly.
This is really sad. My heart goes out to his family.
I’m wondering if this country will ever get over 9/11 and the ramifications it left.
As Abe noted, it’s surprising that you don’t see or hear more of this in the media, because out here on Staten Island, stories of this kind of thing happening are rippling through the fabric of many neighborhoods.
Tim and I were not really friends, but we shared classes and sports in high school. My heart goes out to his entire family. This great tragedy continues.