Community Corner

Remembering Somers' Lost Loved Ones

Three benches in Somers are set as a memorial for family members and friends to visit and remember their lost loved ones.

Today, 11 years after the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, there are three benches in Bailey Park in Somers set as a memorial for family members and friends to visit and remember their lost loved ones. 

George BishopRichard J. Klares, and Joseph Spor, Jr. perished in the terrorist attacks. 

George Bishop, of Granite Springs, was 52. He was the vice president of Aon Consulting Corp. and he treasured taking his two sons to soccer games, going on beach vacations, having guests for intimate dinners and listening to music, according to a profile published in The New York Times. On 9/11, Bishop was at office in the south tower when the planes struck. No one in his office survived the attack. 

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Richard J. Klares, 59, was a risk engineer for Marsh & McLennan. On Sept. 11, he had a meeting on the 105th floor of the south tower to tell a client how to make its factories more safe, according to a profile published in The New York Times. He was remembered as a man who never gave up. Klares went to merchant marine college in the Bronx and married his high school sweetheart, Veronica Bavoso.

Joseph Spor, Jr., 35, was a New York City firefighter who was on duty on Sept. 11 and was deployed to the World Trade Center. Spor grew up in Somers and graduated from Somers High School. He was remembered for his "ever-present smile and a great sense of humor," according to a profile in the Star Ledger. Spor worked at the same company, Rescue 3 in the Bronx, where his father had worked as a firefighter. He left behind his wife and their four children. 

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What do you think of the memorial benches? Will you visit them today to remember the local residents who were lost on that tragic day? Please share in the comments. 


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