Robert Parro, Eng.8 Robert Parro, 35, of Levittown, was a New York City firefighter for eight years. He was working overtime on 9/11. His remains were found seven months later. After Robert Parro was killed, his mother, Virginia Parro, joined a group of about 30 mothers whose sons in the FDNY died on 9/11. “We travel together, we go out for lunch and we talk on the phone,” she said. “I try to live the way Robert would want me to. And treasure his memories. And think about him every day and talk to him every night.” Parro was on duty at Manhattan’s Battalion 8 the night before the attacks. Although he had finished his shift, he rushed to the World Trade Center when the alarm sounded, his older brother, James Parro, of Islip, said. That was the last time he was seen. The last time Virginia Parro, of Freeport, saw her son was the Sunday before the attacks over a dinner at his house in Levittown. Robert Parro and his son, Johnny, 4 at the time, walked her out after the dinner. “He hugged and kissed me,” she said. “He told me about how much he loves me.” A devoted husband and father, Parro liked to spend time with his family. “He loved his family,” his mother said. “He loved his son,” whose nickname was “Buddy.” Johnny Parro begins high school in September. To honor Parro, Levittown renamed Division Avenue in his name in 2009. Part of the Division High School class of 1984, Parro remained close to his childhood friends. “He was a true friend,” his brother said. “Robert always helped others. He’d be there for anyone who needed help.” – Ibrahim Hirsi
