Robert A. Hepburn

Comforting Routines

Every morning, Theresa Hepburn and her two girls would drive Robert A. Hepburn to the train station in Union, N.J., where they lived, for his commute into the city. It was just one of the many routines that defined their family life.

Another unfolded after he settled into his office. He would call every day around 8 a.m. to make sure that Allyson, 6, and Jennifer, 4, were ready for school. And he would always ask what they wanted him to bring them that night. "They always wanted gum or candy," his wife said.

When he returned home, he would take care of the girls so their mother could go to her evening job.

Mr. Hepburn, 39, was an office service manager for Marsh USA, a job he had held for only two months. He worked on the 93rd floor of 1 World Trade Center, and his desk was against a window with a view of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and of course he shared it with his family. During the summer, Mrs. Hepburn and the girls took the train into the city every Thursday for lunchtime concerts downtown.

"He would go down to our train and meet us and put us in our seats, and then he'd go back upstairs to work," she recalled. "Then he'd come down during his lunch hour and watch the rest of the show with us."

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on November 2, 2001.


Robert Hepburn, 39, was there for his girls

Robert "Hep" Hepburn was known for his routines.

Every morning, the Union Township man would call his daughters from work, ask if they were giving their mom a hard time, and ask what daily treat they wanted from New York City, said his wife, Theresa.

Every day, Mr. Hepburn would call at about 11:30 a.m. and ask 4-year-old Allyson how her school day went. He'd call back at 3:30 and ask 6-year-old Jennifer the same thing.

"He'd call at 5:30 to tell us what train he would be on," Theresa Hepburn said. "That was an everyday thing. He was great with the kids. I couldn't ask for a better father. He basically did everything for them."

On Sept. 11, the girls were expecting their father to bring them gum. Mr. Hepburn would not make the trip home. He was on the 93rd floor of One World Trade Center when terrorists crashed a hijacked airliner into the building. He was 39.

That morning, Mr. Hepburn had decided to take the later train to his job at Marsh & McLennan, where he was office service manager, his wife said. Still, he had managed to call the girls that morning before they dashed off to school.

Though he had only been on the job two months, Mr. Hepburn loved it, said his mother, Marilyn Hepburn.

"He was so happy," she said from her home in Spring Hill, Fla. "They gave him an office right at the window, looking at the Statute of Liberty.

"He would say, 'Mom, I'm on top of the world,' " she added. "It just seemed that his job had so much promise . . . He was going to make changes."

Mr. Hepburn's wife said her husband was well prepared for the position. He had started in the mailroom at Amerada Hess Corp. in Woodbridge and over 14 years, had worked his way up to manager.

Theresa Hepburn said she met her husband at the Hess office building. Years later, she found out that their meeting had really been a prank.

"It was a bet with all the guys in the mailroom," she said. They had challenged him to ask her out. The pair married Aug. 14, 1993.

Their family routine also included annual trips to his parents' home in Florida. They were scheduled to travel there this month, his mother said.

He loved his mother's cooking. "He would always say, 'I can't wait, Mom. I've got my menu all ready for you,' " Marilyn Hepburn added.

In addition to his wife, daughters and mother, Mr. Hepburn is survived by his father, Alexander; and three brothers, Alexander Jr. of Lancaster, Pa., and John and David, both of Union Township.

A memorial service is scheduled for 7 p.m. tomorrow at Tonwley Presbyterian Church, 829 Salem Road, Union Township.