Timothy P. Soulas

Raising a Family of Friends
Timothy P. Soulas was director of Cantor Fitzgerald's foreign currency desk in New York, but his life revolved around his family. He was one of five children who were best friends with one another, and he and his wife, Katy, who met during a history class at Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Pa., wanted their family to be the same way.

They had five children -- a sixth is due in March -- and Mr. Soulas coached many of their teams. He coached ice hockey last year, T-ball last spring, roller hockey during the summer and football in the fall.

For his wife's 35th birthday in June, Mr. Soulas surprised her with a barbecue for 100 people in their backyard in Basking Ridge, N.J. To get her out of the house, he gave her a day at Elizabeth Arden. To "get back at him" on his 35th birthday in August, Mrs. Soulas surprised him with a chocolate Labrador puppy. She brought it to a football game and asked someone else to hold the leash. Mr. Soulas looked longingly at the dog. "Isn't it beautiful?" he asked.

Mrs. Soulas told him to pick a name, because the puppy was his, but Mr. Soulas thought she was joking. "I gave him a kiss and said, 'He really is yours,'" she said. "It was awesome."

He named the dog Boomer.


Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on November 15, 2001.


Tim Soulas, loved kids and sports Every night, Tim Soulas said the same seven words to his wife, Katy, before falling asleep: "I love you, I love the children."

On Monday, Sept. 10, the 35-year-old father of five from Bernards Township said those words for the last time.

Mr. Soulas, a managing director of foreign currencies with Cantor Fitzgerald, was on the 105th floor of the first World Trade Center tower hit by a hijacked jetliner last Tuesday.

Now, "I love you, I love the children" are words that will remain etched in the memory of family members and friends as they gather Friday and Saturday at memorial services in his honor.

His legacy will live along with his Katy Soulas, who is due to deliver the couple's sixth child in March, and his children, Timothy Jr., 11; Andrew, 9; Christopher, 7; Matthew, 5, and Nicole, 1.

As a dad, he was a familiar presence at the Bridgewater Sports Arena, where he cheered on his sons as they played ice hockey for the Bears and the Rockets teams. He also coached for Little League and Pop Warner teams.

He was so much a part of the youngsters' sports community that hundreds turned out at a candlelight vigil last week praying for his safe return.

His brother, Rick, says that his love for sports and kids was probably born while growing up in Springfield, Pa., the fifth child of a family of six.

Favorite times, Rick Soulas says, were summers spent in Ocean City, where crowds of the Soulas clan would congregate to play volleyball and splash in the ocean.

The family recently purchased a vacation house there, where memories might be formed for their own children.

Rick Soulas recalls one such memory-making event this past summer at their father Fred's house on the bay in Ocean City. The highlight of the July 21 event was the town's Night in Venice boat parade. In attendance were five of the Soulas siblings, their spouses and their respective14 children.

In addition to his wife, children, father and brother Rick, Mr. Soulas is survived by brothers Stephen of West Chester, Pa., and Daniel of Springfield, Pa., and sister Michelle Donlan of Springfield, Pa.

A memorial Mass for Mr. Soulas will be celebrated at St. James Roman Catholic Church, Basking Ridge, at 7 p.m. Friday. There will be a second memorial Mass at noon Saturday at St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church in Springfield, Pa.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Timothy P. Soulas Children Educational Fund, 686 Paine Drive, West Chester, Pa., 19382.