Greenwich Time
September 15, 2001

By Vesna Jaksic

Eileen Varacchi had a hard time yesterday talking about anything that has happened since Tuesday, the last day she saw her husband and father of her three children. The Greenwich resident joined a growing list of grief-stricken families across the country whose loved ones have been missing since two hijacked planes smashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, leaving hundreds dead and thousands unaccounted for.

“No answers are easy,” she said yesterday, the fourth day Frederick Varacchi, 35, has been missing after going to his office on the 105th floor of 1 World Trade Center.

The last time she spoke with her husband was at 9 a.m. Tuesday, when she called after hearing on her car radio of the plane that had crashed into his building minutes earlier.

“He was in his office,” she said, where he had worked for three years as president of eSpeed, a division of the equity trading firm Cantor Fitzgerald. “There was a lot of smoke and he couldn’t get out,” she said. “He just told me… He said, ‘Tell the kids I love them.'”

“Seconds later, the phone was disconnected, leaving her with feelings she said she couldn’t even describe.”I went home and just waited by the phone,” she said, holding on to hope that has been diminishing every day.

Frederick Varacchi worked in the north tower, the second to be hit Tuesday morning. It collapsed at 10:29 a.m. Thousands were in the building at the time, including some 1,000 Cantor Fitzgerald employees.

Since then, Eileen Varacchi has been telling her children þ who are 2, 6 and 8 years old a little about the tragedy each day, so they can try to cope with it gradually. She gave them the worst news yesterday.

“I told them it probably won’t be likely he’ll be coming home,” she said.

An at-home mother, Eileen Varacchi, 34, said her husband enjoyed everything he did.

“He loved every second of his life,” she said yesterday, trying to hold back her tears, “and he did everything for his kids.”

Frederick Varacchi coached soccer at Greenwich Soccer Club as well as lacrosse, she said. He had a passion for motorcycles and loved race cars.

“He was trying to get his license,” she said.

After the attacks, the Varacchis’ friends and family members went to Manhattan to search for answers from hospitals, rescue workers and anyone who may have seen him or heard news. They returned with no answers.

Frederick Varacchi was born in Syosset, N.Y., where most of his family still lives. The couple met in a biology class in Syosset High School and their romance developed into a marriage some eight years later. The two were going to celebrate their 10th anniversary this month. Eileen Varacchi said her children are still having trouble understanding what happened to their dad, whom she described as “outgoing, funny, sarcastic and extremely generous.”

The Varacchis moved to their backcountry Greenwich home three years ago, after spending seven years in Ridgefield. Whether she hears from her husband or not, Varacchi said, there is one thing she will always remember.

“He loved being at home,” she said. “His kids, that’s all he lived for.”