Long Island remembers

About Lawrence Beck

Lawrence Beck, 38, worked as a clerk in the mailroom at Cantor Fitzgerald between the 101st and 105th floors of the north tower. A native of Bellmore, he had been living for several years in Manhattan.

He was a conscientious worker who enjoyed talking to his co-workers as he made his rounds delivering the mail, said Lawrence Beck's mother, Susan Beck of Melville.

"Most people remember Larry as a nice, smiling, happy person," she said.

A lover of all kinds of music, he had a huge record and tape collection of mostly classic rock and disco music. He also enjoyed traveling and he had taken trips to Europe, Israel and the Caribbean. He loved to bowl, which he did once a week, his mother said. He was a devoted Mets fan.

He enjoyed going to parties and dancing, his mother said.

Single, Beck also adored his two nieces, then 3 and 1 1/2.

Since his loss, their granddaughters have been his parents' greatest source of solace.

"They've helped a lot," she said. "We always talk about Uncle Larry so that he will not be forgotten."

Susan and her husband Ted also comfort each other. Managing a smile, she says: "I have a wonderful husband and we get along. Ted always makes me laugh. Even at the worst times he can always make me laugh, and that's a good thing."

Still, not a day goes by that their son is not remembered, said Ted Beck.

"He is in our thoughts every single day," he said. "There are pictures of him all over the house."

There's also a bottle in the refrigerator with a sign on it. It reads: "Don't drink; Larry's beer."

- Ridgely Ochs