Left: Jim Byrne with his wife Colleen and children Lila, 4, Shane, 2, and Conor, 4 months, at Conor's Baptism. Right: His late brother, Tim, who died on Sept. 11, 2001, in the World Trade Center's South Tower. [Photos Jim Byrne]
CHICAGO — Every time Jim Byrne sees a clock that reads 9:11 a.m. or 9:11 p.m., he pauses and thinks of his brother, Tim.
Tim Byrne was one of thousands killed on 9/11. The 36-year-old was on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center's South Tower. He left behind his mother and nine siblings, including Jim, 12 years younger and a Chicago resident since 2004.
A day does not go by that Jim, of Old Town, doesn't reflect on his brother's passing — not only because of the tragic way he died but because Tim was more like a father to him.
"It certainly is an absolutely daily occurrence that I think about him," said Jim, now 38. "Part of all of us died that day, but there's a lot of pride when I know he's looking down on me and my siblings and my mom."
The Byrnes' father, Patrick, died of a seizure in his sleep when he was only 47. Jim was 9 years old, and Tim, 21 and a student at Syracuse University. He would graduate and become a successful bond salesman at the Wall Street firm Sandler O'Neill & Partners. Tim made sure his mother and all his siblings were taken care of financially. When Jim attended Cornell University, where he played on the football team, Tim helped him pay for tuition.
About 10 days before 9/11, Jim talked to Tim for the last time on the phone. Jim had recently graduated and Tim had called to confirm his younger brother had sent a monthly allotment to their mom, like the rest of the siblings.
When Jim woke up on Sept. 11, 2001, he quickly realized his brother was at work on one of the South Tower's top floors. Tim talked to four people from the Tower, including his mother, that day.
"We hoped he would somehow walk out of the ashes," Jim said. "That was the kind of person he was."
Jim had interned for his brother's company, Sandler O'Neill & Partners, while he was in college. Of the firm's 171 employees at the time, 66 were killed on Sept. 11. Jim began a full-time job with the company on Dec. 1, 2001.
"It was very therapeutic to be part of a group of people who were going through the same thing I was going through," Jim said of working at Sandler O'Neill & Partners.
When the firm was looking to grow its regional office in Chicago, Jim moved here in early 2004. Now the Associate Director of the Chicago branch, Jim has always kept a photo of Tim in his work desk Downtown.
"I basically do the same thing my brother did," Jim said of his career. "There's no doubt I talk to him and try to communicate my thoughts with him as I prepare for a meeting."
Work and the 9:11 clock readings aren't the only daily reminders of his brother. Jim is now married to Colleen, and the couple have three children: Lila, 4; Shane, 2; and Conor, 4 months. Shane's middle name is Timothy.
"I knew I wanted to name one of my sons in his honor," Jim said.
Jim hasn't been to the Twin Towers site since 9/11. His first time since his brother died will be a few days before Nov. 1, when Jim will run the New York City Marathon in memory of Tim, who would have turned 50 this year.
A tree and memorial in honor of Tim Byrne in Oyster Bay, New York.
Jim flew to New York on Thursday. Friday, he'll attend a morning and evening Mass with family members and friends. In between, he'll spend time sitting under a tree that was planted in honor of his brother at a park in Oyster Bay, a town on Long Island.
He misses his older brother terribly. And Jim said he never gets tired of telling people how amazing Tim truly was.
"Life goes by so fast, and so much of my life has played out since [9/11]," he said. "I just want as many people to know about the great person my brother was."
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
