Prior, Kevin

Kevin Prior, Sqd.252 “Loved the 19th Hole” Kevin Prior was living the life he loved. He was a proud firefighter in Special Operations Squad 252 in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. He was looking forward to taking the lieutenant’s test. He loved being a firefighter… it was so much a part of who he was. He thought he had the best job in the world and he expected to have a long and proud career. Kevin and his fiancée Doreen spent three weeks in Ireland in the summer of 2001. They enjoyed the hospitality of relatives, and made a wish on the top of a mountain for a long and happy life together. Plans were already under way for a wedding on July 12, 2002, but September 11 changed everything. Kevin was lost with five other members of his squad when Tower One collapsed, as they were ascending the stairs to answer a mayday call from another Rescue Company. Born and raised in Bellmore, LI, Kevin attended Saint Barnabas grade school in Bellmore and Holy Trinity High School in Hicksville. Following in the footsteps of his father who retired from the NYPD in 1983, he served as a police officer in New York City’s 88th Precinct for one year before he was called for the FDNY in July of 1995. Kevin also served in the Bellmore Volunteer Fire Department from his early teenage years and most recently held the rank of Lieutenant. He didn’t waste a minute of his life… fishing, golfing (loved that 19th hole!), skiing, scuba diving… he tried everything. He had a boat, “Fire Escape” and loved being with his friends… he had a great sense of humor and was so much fun to be with. He was the life of any party. His friends will tell you he was a “funny guy,” and today the stories of his antics still liven up a room with laughter. He shared the same birthday (not the same year) with Frank, another volunteer firefighter, and Kevin got such a kick out of calling him for their mutual birthday and sharing a beer with him. Frank got such a kick out of that too. Kevin would have been 29 on January 18, 2002… Frank was 76. And, as Kevin would have done, the mutual birthday was celebrated when Frank joined Kevin’s family and friends for that traditional beer. Kevin’s body was recovered three weeks after the attack on the World Trade Center. He is survived by his fiancé Doreen, his parents, Marian and Gerard Prior, two older brothers, Gerard and Dennis, his nephew John, age 8 and two nieces, 6 year old Katie and 5 year old Erin, and many aunts, uncles and cousins.