Rena Sam-Dinnoo

A Full Life, Each Second
Her day would start at 4 a.m., when she would rise to make coffee for her husband before he left for work, and would not end until after she had watched the 10 o'clock news. In the intervening hours, Rena Sam-Dinnoo would study for her undergraduate degree at Pace University, cook some dinner for her husband, Andy, work a full day in the accounting division of Marsh & McLennan and attend classes at night. It was not that she was without help — except for the cooking, her husband, who races horses professionally, would do all the housework. It was simply that she "was a very hardworking person," in the words of her sister, Gina Sam. Originally from Trinidad, Ms. Sam-Dinnoo had just finished her degree and was looking forward to going on to a master's and becoming an accountant, her relatives said.

"She was never a dull person," Mr. Dinnoo said. "She is well educated, and loved to talk, really about anything." He said that he and his wife had not seen much of each other lately because he had been away on business for the six weeks before Labor Day, and then she had gone to Boston last weekend to pick apples with relatives. "We went shopping together to buy groceries on Monday night," he said. "Monday night is the last time we went out together."