Vassilios G. Haramis

Soothing Ferry Rides
There was gardening, Greek music and food, soccer, keeping his two Audis in pristine condition and, of course, the children. These were all passions of Vassilios G. Haramis, a mechanical engineer for Washington Group International who lived on Staten Island.

But it was the water that truly moved Mr. Haramis, 56, who grew up by the sea in southern Greece and, later, relished commuting in the morning on the Staten Island ferry, said his wife, Gloria. "I think it reminded him of Greece," she said. "The water was calm and it was soothing."

But Mr. Haramis was deeply devoted to living in the United States. An immigrant who had come to New York in the 1970's as an engineering student at New York University, he received a master's degree from Columbia University and eventually wound up working at the World Trade Center. There, he survived the 1993 parking garage bombing. He and several colleagues waited until a helicopter came and rescued a pregnant woman before they descended more than 90 flights of stairs.

Even after that, Mr. Haramis still adored working at the World Trade Center and riding the ferry to work, Mrs. Haramis said. "He loved the building, he loved being down there," she said. "That was his place."