Encircled by Family
Even in a family of 12 siblings, Rosanne Lang stood out.
"She danced the longest, sang the loudest — even though she couldn't carry a tune — and she loved the fiercest," said her brother, Gerard.
At 42, Ms. Lang was an equities trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, a job that afforded her a nicely landscaped home with a pool in Middletown, N.J., and a share, with two siblings, in a beach house in Sea Bright, N.J.
She was the first girl after her parents had six sons. They grew up in Brooklyn, but eventually most of them, including the parents, Rose and William, ended up in the Middletown area. Ms. Lang moved to Los Angeles with her husband and infant son, Michael, but after a divorce, she moved to New Jersey, and forged a life for herself and Michael, now 17, surrounded by family.
"Rosanne was a self-made, successful woman," said William Lang, the oldest of her 11 siblings, who also lives in Middletown. "She was successful in spite of the fact that we all had our preconceived notions about her. After all, she had six older brothers. She was this amazing woman, always smiling."
The Lang family experienced a double tragedy on Sept. 11: William Lang's son, Brendan, 30, also died.