By Rebecca Henely
From the time he was small, Michael Cawley of Ladder 136 in Elmhurst wanted to be a firefighter.
Jack Cawley, Michael’s father, was never able to be a firefighter because of his eyesight, but every weekend he would bring Michael down to the firehouses, said Michael’s mother, Margaret Cawley.
With a single-minded determination that had gotten him into Archbishop Molloy HS in Briarwood after all seats for the year were filled, Michael eventually found a place at Ladder 136. On Sept. 11, 2001, he was sent to work at Rescue 4.
“The whole group of guys who went there that morning, they never came back,” Jack Cawley said.
Michael Cawley’s body was recovered in the lobby of the south tower of the World Trade Center with two other firefighters Nov. 5, 2001. He was the only one from his firehouse to die in the aftermath of the attacks, which killed 76 firefighters from Queens.
The Cawleys live on Kalima Avenue near Parsons Boulevard in Flushing, not far from an intersection that has borne Michael Cawley’s name since 2003. Inside their house, pictures of their eldest son are displayed over the fireplace.
Margaret Cawley, who wears a circle-shaped necklace with her son’s picture, has four thick photo albums with shots of her son along with letters of condolence.
She describes Michael Cawley, who was 32 when he died, as a tender man who loved children. He had bought a house January 2001 and was dating a girl.
“He was such a mush, easygoing guy,” Margaret Cawley said.
Michael Cawley was also deeply invested in his job, Margaret Cawley said. He was disappointed if he missed a big fire, and before his death was due to be honored for saving a worker who had been electrocuted on a high wire.
Margaret Cawley said that during special events, he would sit with the battalion chiefs instead of the other firefighters.
“They just loved Michael because he was so into it like they were,” Margaret Cawley said.
Since his death, Margaret and Jack Cawley have held an annual benefit dinner in April, the month Michael was born, at Mulcahy’s Pub and Concert hall in Wantagh, L.I., with the help of Michael’s siblings, Kristin and Brendan Cawley, who is a firefighter in the Bronx.
For a suggested donation of $25, visitors get a meal. At the dinner, they can listen to live music and participate in five live and 65 silent auctions. The money is used to fund 12 scholarships to Archbishop Molloy HS. Any funds left over are used by Jack Cawley to send gifts to soldiers fighting overseas and to ill first responders.
“We make a lot of money in one day and it is an enormous, enormous effort,” Margaret Cawley said.
While visitors to the annual dinner have declined slightly since the years immediately after the disaster, the event still draws 850 to 1,000 visitors, and the mailing list for the Cawleys’ foundation numbers 2,500 people.
“Of course, at the end of the day we wish we never had to do it,” Margaret Cawley said, “but we do it for Michael.”
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
