Description Metal flathead screwdriver belonging to Sean Paul Rooney. The screwdriver handle is scratched and has smudges of paint on it. The shaft and head of the tool are also scratched and slightly rusted.
Historical Notes A native of Buffalo, New York, Sean Rooney lived with his wife, Beverly, in Stamford, Connecticut. In the yard of the Victorian house he had restored, Sean planted shade trees and herbs that he used for cooking. Sean was a vice president at Aon Corporation in the claims division, on the South Tower’s 98th floor. On September 11, he called his wife from the 105th floor. Sean was 50 years old.
Curator's Comment On the morning of September 11, Connecticut resident Sean Rooney left two voice-mail messages for his wife, Beverly, describing what he was seeing and hearing from his office in the South Tower. The couple eventually connected by phone, staying on the line together until the building collapsed. One of Sean’s hobbies was carpentry. After his death, Beverly resized Sean’s tool belt, wearing it as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. An advocate for creation of the 9/11 Commission, Beverly perished in 2009 in a plane crash en route to Buffalo, New York, where she was to award a memorial scholarship at Sean’s high school. HIDE