Clarin S. Schwartz

Clarin S. Schwartz of New York, NY passed away on September 11, 2001.

Clarin's family expected maybe 200 people at her memorial service; about 700 came. Such was the personal magnetism of Ms. Schwartz, 51, a senior vice president at Aon Consulting Inc. in the World Trade Center.

She was the consummate organizer, always helping others. She was the one who assembled her colleagues at work to go to the gym. (They don't go nearly as often now.) When someone had a sick goldfish, she found goldfish medicine. When someone needed a high-quality florist in Illinois, she found one. When someone was out of a job, she helped there, too, picking up the phone and networking. Her family jokingly called her the fixer, or "consigliere."

"She knew how to get things done and where there were interesting things to do," said her brother, Shepherd Siegel, at her memorial service. He said she knew everything from the best museum exhibits to what to do about jury duty to where to get shoes repaired.

A tax lawyer, Ms. Schwartz liked precision and figuring things out, but she also liked red cars, red dresses, jazz, jelly beans and having fun. She would bake for weeks for her annual balloon party, when people jammed her West 77th Street apartment for a bird's-eye view of the balloons being inflated for the Thanksgiving Day parade. She had season tickets to the ballet and the symphony, but she also adored Rocky and Bullwinkle. "She never lost her joy and wonder," said her sister, Dr. Hudie Siegel. "She was someone who definitely believed that living well was the best revenge."

Clarin was inducted into the College in 2002.