Khalid M. Shahid

Three Passions and a Plan

Khalid Shahid and his fiancée, Jamie Castro, had everything planned. They were building a house in Mount Olive, N.J., close to Union, where he grew up and where his parents still live. They were to marry in November. When the first baby came, Leonor Shahid, his mother, was going to quit her job to baby-sit while her son and daughter-in-law were at work.

Mr. Shahid, 25, had three passions:

Computers. He was a network systems administrator at eSpeed;

Sports. He had been in the ski club and tennis club at Montclair State University. "He was very, very fond of skiing," Mrs. Shahid said;

Most of all, his family, present and future. "His idea was to create a family just like ours," his mother said. He had a younger sister and brother. His father, Syed, an engineer, came from Pakistan, and his mother was from Colombia. "He'd tell us all the time, he was so proud."


Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on June 30, 2002.


Khalid Shahid, 25, he was building a life The new house Khalid Shahid and his fiancée were building in Mt. Olive was expected to be completed next month. And plans for a March 2002 wedding to his high school sweetheart were in full swing.

Intensely devoted to his family and his fiancée, Jamie Castro, Mr. Shahid of Union Township saw the construction of the couple's dream house and the marriage as the first step in starting a loving and close-knit family of his own.

"He used to say, 'Mom, we have such an awesome family.' He believe in that so strongly that he wanted to have the same things for himself," said his mother, Leonor Shahid.

But those dreams abruptly ended with the Sept. 11 terror attack at the World Trade Center. Mr. Shahid, 25, who worked as computer network administrator for Cantor Fitzgerald, was in his office on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower when the first hijacked jetliner struck the building.

Family members recalled Mr. Shahid as a sports enthusiast who not only loved his family and was devoted to Castro, but also was respected by and loved the company of a close circle of friends.

"He was very family-oriented. He said he wanted to marry early so he could have the same type of family," his father, Syed Shahid, said. "We are a very close family. We care for each other and we are always together."

Born in Union, Mr. Shahid attended Union High School where he played soccer, baseball and tennis and participated in the marching band. He attended Montclair State University where focused on tennis. He was team captain during his senior year.

He graduated from Montclair in 1999 with a degree in computer science.

Throughout college, he continued dating Castro, whom he had met during his senior year in high school.

Castro, 24, of Springfield said the couple was planning to marry next March.

"Family was most important to him and it was also for me, so it was perfect," said Castro, a fifth grade teacher in Livingston. "We have been together for eight years -- true high school sweethearts. Everything was going perfect. We did everything the right way.

"Then this happened. We don't know why this happened to us," she said.

Both Castro and Mr. Shahid's parents say they take comfort in knowing that the man they loved lived a full and unselfish life, always giving of himself.

"He was a perfect gentleman, a real nice kid," his father said. "He enjoyed every minute of his life. He never wasted time."

In addition to his parents and fiancée, Mr. Shahid is survived by a brother, Jaffer, and a sister, Fatima, both of Union.

A memorial service will be held 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the McCracken Funeral Home, 1500 Morris Ave., Union. The family will be receiving friends between noon and 3 p.m.

In lieu of flowers and gifts, the family requests that donations be made to the Khalid Shahid Memorial Scholarship, Westfield Foundation, P.O. Box 2295, Westfield, N.J. 07091.