Paul R. Nimbley

A Father to His Team
Paul Nimbley had four daughters and a baby boy of his own, and as if that were not enough, he also adopted a squad of teenage basketball players. He recently bought a Ford Expedition just so he could cart more kids around. "He was not the kind of dad to leave his kids at home," said his wife, Cheri.

Mr. Nimbley, 42, was a vice president at Cantor Fitzgerald, who doubled as a coach for the Hot Shots, a girls' basketball team in his hometown of Middletown, N.J. The players called him the "voice of reason."

"If they had problems, Paul would be the one the kids listened to," Mrs. Nimbley said.

The morning of the World Trade Center attack, Mr. Nimbley called home to check on his wife and kids, the way he always did. He has not called since then, and the Ford Expedition sits empty in the driveway.


Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on September 30, 2001.


Paul Nimbley, 42, prince at work and home At work they called him the "Prince of Cantor Fitzgerald" because of his easygoing personality, his wife said. At home he was a prince as well, in the eyes of his four daughters and 8-month-old son.

Paul R. Nimbley, 42, of Middletown prided himself on never letting the status he had achieved in life as vice president of administration for the Wall Street securities firm go to his head.

" 'I'm a simple man,' he used to say," said Isabel Nimbley, his wife. "Although he was a boss, his employees could come into his office and sit and talk to him. He was never too big to take time."

A 20-year veteran of Cantor Fitzgerald, Mr. Nimbley was working on the 100th floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower when a commercial jetliner hijacked by terrorists struck the building on Sept. 11.

Mr. Nimbley's cousin, John Monahan, 47, an operations supervisor for Cantor Fitzgerald, also lost his life in the attack.

Athletic and outgoing, Mr. Nimbley was an avid golfer and a founder of the Blue Chips Invitational golf tournament in Middletown. But his greatest love, said his wife, was coaching girls basketball and spending time with his daughters.

"He had a very demanding job, but he would always make time for the girls," said his wife.

As coach of the Middletown girls basketball team, Mr. Nimbley was the voice of reason who encouraged the girls to practice their dribbling, rebounding and defense, even when some of them were not in the mood.

"He was the coach who could always get the girls to do what he wanted," Isabel Nimbley said.

In June, just before Father's Day, Mr. Nimbley and several other coaches arranged for 23 of the girls to attend a WNBA game at Madison Square Garden and play a scrimmage before the basketball game on the Garden's famed hardwood floor.

Twelve of the girls, randomly selected by Mr. Nimbley, also stood on the court for the singing of the national anthem and received an official WNBA ball from a New York Liberty player.

"I'm going to do whatever my daughters enjoy because I love spending time with them," Mr. Nimbley was quoted as saying in a Star-Ledger story that ran on Father's Day, June 17.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Nimbley is survived by five children: two stepdaughters, Aisah Anderson, 15, and Angel Anderson, 8; two daughters, Jessica Nimbley, 13, and Michele Nimbley, 9; and an 8-month-old son, Michael Nimbley; his mother, Jean Kearny Nimbley of Middletown; a brother, Robert Nimbley of Jersey City; and three sisters, Patricia Nimbley of Bayonne, Margaret Gooden of Belleville, and Jean Corio of Middletown.

The family will hold a celebration of Mr. Nimbley's life at 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church on Center Avenue in Atlantic Highlands. A memorial Mass will follow at 2 p.m. Letters of condolence may be e-mailed to Pflegerfh@aol.com.