Sandra Fajardo Smith

Happy in New York

When Sandra Fajardo Smith heard that her dear cousin, Wanda Fajardo, was feeling lonely and wanted to return to their native Brazil to celebrate her 43rd birthday, she would have none of it. Stay in New York, she told Wanda. Let me organize a birthday party. Trust me, you'll have a good time.

Ms. Smith was right. She was good at cheering people up. She was effervescent, always smiling. She loved her job as an accountant at Marsh & McLennan, loved working out at the gym, loved all of the city's cultural offerings.

But she especially loved her cousin. The two had grown up together, in a small inland town, and had come to New York more than a decade ago. And even though Ms. Smith was seven years younger, Ms. Fajardo relied increasingly on Ms. Smith for advice. "Sandra was so strong, so mature, and there was no one that I trusted more," said Ms. Fajardo, whose birthday party took place on Sept. 9. "She was like my therapist. I told her everything. Now, I don't know who I'm going to talk to."