Remembering Charles (Carlos) Dominguez

Carlos Dominguez was 1 of 2,996 souls who perished in the 9/11/01 terrorist attack. He died at the World Trade Center. He was 34.

He was an employee of Marsh & McLennan and lived in East Meadow, N.Y. with his wife Maureen and three young daughters Maria, Amanda and Michelle.

Carlos was born in New York City's Little Italy to Cuban immigrants. He was their second son -- his older brother's name is Benjamin. He met his future wife when they were teenagers and they married in 1991 when she finished college. Theirs was an interfaith marriage -- they were married by both a priest and a rabbi.

Carlos went to New York University and was the first in his family to go to college. He majored in political science. However, he ended up working as an IT professional. He worked as an independent contractor for Marsh & McLennan. He set up firewalls for their computers. After three years as a contractor, Marsh & McLennan made Carlos a permanent employee -- on September 10.

Carlos was known as a very open-hearted and kind person with a wonderful sense of humor. Those who knew him say that he was very intelligent and had a way of being able to make things easier in tense situations. He was also known for his love of gadgets. When he and his future wife Maureen were courting, they volunteered in soup kitchens on the Bowery. When they married and started a family, he worked long hours so that his wife could stay home and be a full-time mother to their three daughters.

In addition to his wife and daughters, Carlos is survived by his mother Eugenia and his brother Benjamin. Carlos' father died of cancer shortly after 9/11.

Carlos had so many friends and family members who loved him. One friend of his took this panoramic photo of the New York City skyline just four months before 9/11. He calls this photo "Innocence Lost" and dedicates it to two friends lost on 9/11 -- Carlos Dominguez and Mark Shulman -- along with all the other victims.

Carlos was a family man. He was a caring man of faith whose kindness made the world a better place during his lifetime. It was my honor to write this tribute to him. I would like to thank D.Challener Roe for allowing me to be a part of the 2,996 Project.

The information used in this tribute was collected from the following sources:

• "Deeply Shared Values" - a profile that appeared in the New York Times and is now part of the Legacy.com 9/11 memorial.
• Carlos' page on the site September11Victims.com, where Carlos' brother Benjamin and many of his friends share their memories of him.
• This square in the 9/11 victims memorial quilt. Carlos also has another square here.

Notice: The 2,996 Project website has been disabled by their hosting company because of the heavy traffic they were getting. (One would think the hosting company would make an exception on today of all days, but they apparently decided to be jerks about it.) MVRWC is has a mirror of the list of participating blogs.

Update: The 2,996 Project website is up again now.