Gerard Schrang, Res.3 (D) About Gerard Patrick Schrang “The Joker” Gerard Patrick Schrang, 45, of Holbrook, was a firefighter with Rescue Co. 3 in the Bronx. The father of two was believed to have been on the 93rd or 94th floor of the north tower when the building fell, his widow said. Schrang’s remains were recovered 11 days later. The number of pranks Schrang pulled over the years are enough to fill a book, said his widow, Denise Schrang, 53, of Downsville, N.Y. When he was new on the job, she said, the other firefighters, who responded to a call, issued a directive. “They said since you’re a probie, you stay, get in the sink and do the dishes,” she recalled. Schrang did exactly as ordered. “He took all his clothes off,” she said. “He was butt-naked in the big sink washing the dishes when they came back.” Shortly after her husband died, Denise Schrang moved to Downsville, a small town in upstate New York where the couple had bought a house. The Schrangs, who loved all that the outdoor lifestyle has to offer, including fishing and hunting, had planned to live out the remainder of their lives in retirement in Downsville. “We had a dream of living upstate,” said Denise, who is doing just that. – Chau Lam
