East Harlem Family Fondly Recalls Father Lost A Decade Before On Flight 587
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The city is marking the 10th anniversary of the Queens crash of Flight 587 this weekend, but for an East Harlem family that lost a loved one on the ill-fated plane bound for the Dominican Republic, the memorials and questions are ongoing. Borough reporter Rebecca Spitz filed the following report. Everything nine-year-old Angeline Celestino of East Harlem knows about her father Angel comes from her mother.
Maria DeJesus was newly pregnant on November 12, 2001 when Flight 587 bound for the Dominican Republic crashed in Queens, killing 260 people on board and five on the ground. Her husband, Angel Celestino, was one of the victims.
"They told me that he was on the list of passengers. That was the worst moment of my entire life," says DeJesus.
But DeJesus says she had no choice but to go on. With two children already at home and another on the way, she says she had to keep it together, for Angel.
A cable installer by day and aspiring singer the rest of the time, Angel Celestino was heading to the Dominican Republic to visit his mother.
Three days before that, DeJesus found out she was expecting.
"At least we got the opportunity to talk about it, to get to know that I was pregnant," says DeJesus.
Angeline, named for her late father, started asking questions about him when she was three years old.
"I just usually ask like if he was a good husband or a good father? Was he a good singer?" says Angeline.
The family pours over photo albums to keep his spirit alive.
DeJesus says she wishes the city were doing more during this 10th anniversary of the crash. She thinks the victims' loved ones deserve it.
"At the beginning, we was informed of everything. Right now they wait everything for the last minute," she says.
DeJesus says mostly she is concentrating on making a happy life for all of her children and cherishing the pieces of Angel that she sees in Angeline. She believes Angeline is growing up to be a wonderful person, just like her father.
"There's like one thing I say to him every time, if I'm at an anniversary, if I'm praying, if I'm doing something. I always say, 'I love you,'" says Angeline.
So Angel Celestino always remains on his family members' minds and in their hearts.