James P. Ladley

Pleasure in the Mundane
Simple things made James Ladley happy. Things like little activities with the kids. He would take Elizabeth, 4, and James, 2, to pick up the mail. Or to get the newspaper. Or just run around the yard.

He was a soft target. He would be watching baseball, and his son would yell from his bed, "Daddy, get me out of the crib. I want to watch the Yankees." Mr. Ladley would fetch James and plop him down beside him, where James would watch a few pitches and promptly fall asleep.

"It didn't take much to make Jimmy happy," said his wife, Sheri.

Mr. Ladley, 41, a bond broker at Cantor Fitzgerald, would not miss dinner with the family. "We always waited for him," Sheri said. "He got home at 7, and we always ate together and then he would help give the children a bath and he and I would read them stories. It was a group effort."

He had succeeded enough at work that he was contemplating retiring within three years. "He wanted to take the kids to school," Sheri said. "He wanted to coach their sports. He wanted to spend more time with me. He wanted to downsize his load."

Dinner at the Ladley home has not been the same. The meal never started until he was there. Every night, Elizabeth and James ask for Daddy.

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on October 19, 2001.


James Ladley, 41, hoped to coach his kids

James P. Ladley often drew parallels between his work as a partner and corporate bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald and his love for team sports.

When he left college as an accomplished baseball player, it was the camaraderie of the finance world that drew him to a career in business.

"They were there in the office all day and were so close," his wife, Sheri Ladley, said of the atmosphere at Cantor Fitzgerald. "He felt it was like having that camaraderie all the time."

Mr. Ladley, 41, of Colts Neck was in his Cantor Fitzgerald office on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower on Sept. 11 when a hijacked plane struck the building.

Sheri Ladley said "Jimmy" was talking on the phone with a business client when the plane hit. The phone line was immediately severed. That was the last time anyone heard from him.

She said her husband had been looking forward to an early retirement in the next five years so he could spend more time with his two children, Elizabeth, 4, and James, 2.

"He called Elizabeth and James his two favorite people," Sheri Ladley said. "His goal in life was to live off his investments and coach his kids' games."

Mr. Ladley was an accomplished basketball and baseball player at Saint Adalbert's and Moore Catholic High School in Staten Island, where he was born and raised. His scholastic play earned him a baseball scholarship to North Adams State College in Massachusetts.

He graduated from the college in 1982 with a degree in business.

Mr. Ladley began his career on Wall Street 17 years ago with a job at Fundamental Brokerage Inc. He later worked at Chapdelaine Corporate Securities as a partner before taking a position with Cantor Fitzgerald six years ago.

Sheri Ladley said that on weekends, her husband could normally be found at the Colt's Neck Golf Course.

"He would get up early, at 7 a.m., to go play so he could be home with us," Sheri Ladley said. "The times we shared would just fly by. We really enjoyed each other's company."

In addition to his wife and children, Mr. Ladley is survived by his parents, James and Delores of Staten Island; two sisters, MaryAnn of Staten Island and Eileen of Colts Neck, and two brothers, Daniel and Patrick, both of Staten Island.

A memorial service will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the Colts Neck Golf Club, 50 Flock Road, Colts Neck. A Memorial Mass will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Madison Avenue and East 50th Street, New York.

Donations may be made to the Memorial Trust Fund for the Children of James Ladley, c/o First Union Colts Neck Office, State Highway 34 and Artisan Way, Colts Neck, N.J. 07722.