Keith Broomfield

A Natural Fix-It Ability
To help support his 10 children in America and back in Jamaica, Keith Broomfield spent years picking apples and working as a Manhattan parking lot attendant. Three years ago, Mr. Broomfield, described by friends as having a powerful sense of integrity and a melt-your-frown smile, became a mechanic for Advent Industrial, which builds broadcast transmitters.

He had a natural fix-it ability, which he tried to impart to his fiancée, Jennifer Morrison, with whom he lived in Brooklyn. "He gave me the courage to do things I didn't want to do," she said ‹ like understanding car guts. "He would say, 'I want to show you this because there's going to be times when I can't be with you and I want you to talk to mechanics in a certain way so they won't give you garbage,' " Ms. Morrison said.

Mr. Broomfield, 49, was enormously proud of his job, because he was relied upon to be a jack-of-all-trades. When he had to check an antenna site, he would clamber out on the roof of the 110th floor of 1 World Trade Center, fling open his arms and shout, "I'm king of the world!"