Saturday, September 11, 2010

Firefighter tries to fulfill artist's dying wish


From CBS 2:

Volunteer firefighter Phil Cise made a promise to the then 93-year-old artist who created a painting of the heroes of 9/11 days after the attacks: that he would fulfill her dying wish and build a chapel memorial in honor of those who died, and put the painting there.

A farmer has donated five acres of land for the cause in Alamuchy, New Jersey, and architect Suzanne Sowinski has designed a plan for free.

Size still needs funding for his dream, so he’s selling t-shirts with the image of the painting in the hopes of raising enough money to complete the project.

All the while, he keeps remembering what Hitchcock wrote on the canvas: “This painting is in memory of the firefighters, the police, the emergency medical services, and all the volunteers who died trying to save lives.”

Another dying wish from the artist was that a banner of the painting be distributed to firehouses and police departments throughout the world.

Hitchcock died in 2007 at the age of 97.

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