Christopher D. Mello was handsome. (He had “a kinetic smile,” said his father, Douglas Mello.) He was athletic. (He led his high school football team to the New York State finals.) He was polite. (He wrote a thank-you note to his interviewer after getting into Princeton.)
At 180 pounds, he was too slender even for Ivy League football, so he turned to rugby at Princeton. In Boston, where he worked as an analyst for Alta Communications, he took up boxing.
But Mr. Mello was also a poet, a film buff and an artist. “If there was one thing Chris would have wanted to do, it was be a cartoonist,” said his girlfriend, Kristy Walsh. An aficionado of “Garfield” and “Calvin and Hobbes,” Mr. Mello created his own cartoon characters and would doodle during pauses in his countless conference calls.
A father and a girlfriend see a man through different lenses, but both agreed that Mr. Mello was exceedingly loyal to friends. Ms. Walsh recalled the day she and Mr. Mello drove four hours to see her sister perform a three-minute dance piece. Two thousand people came to the wake after he died on Flight 11. He was 25.
After Sept. 11, Ms. Walsh learned that Mr. Mello had saved a valentine she sent him in fifth grade.
—Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on November 13, 2001.
— ABOUT CHRIS —
Chris Mello’s Legacy
In 2007, Garfield creator Jim Davis created this wonderful hand-drawn tribute to Chris.
Chris was born on June 22, 1976 in Greenwich, Connecticut, to Douglas and Ellen Mello. He was an outstanding student and athlete at Rye High School, graduating in 1994. He was loved by students, teachers, and coaches alike.
Chris served as Vice President of his senior class and was a member of the National Honor Society, maintaining an academic average of 93.84. He received the University of Michigan Book Award for Academic Excellence and received a Magna Cum Laude grade on the 1993 National Latin Exam.
An active participant in varsity sports, Chris was a three-sport lettered athlete in football, basketball and baseball. His accomplishments in football were particularly noteworthy, serving as co-captain of the Rye High School varsity football team during his senior year. The team went on to the New York State Finals, where Chris was voted the most valuable defensive player of the tournament. He was also a member of the varsity basketball and baseball teams and was voted Con-Edison’s athlete of the week in 1993.
While at Rye High School, Chris was also presented with the Golden Dozen Scholar Athletic Award for both his on-field and academic achievements. He was a model United Nations representative, student leader of the Core Group, a member of Students Against Drunk Driving, the Principal’s Student Union Advisory Board, Class Yearbook, Student Council, and the Sportsmanship Committee. A beloved and caring member of the community, he performed more than 200 hours of community service.
Chris attended Princeton University, where he majored in Psychology. Continuing his passion for athletics, he developed a love for a favorite new sport, rugby, and served as Vice President of the Cottage Club, a member of the men’s Rugby Club, Kappa Alpha Order fraternity, and the 21 Club, before graduating in 1998.
After Princeton, Chris became a financial analyst at BT Alex Brown in Baltimore, then parlayed his talents to become a media analyst for Alta Communications in Boston. He enjoyed playing golf with his family and was a member of the Apawamis Country Club in Rye, New York, as well as the Rye YMCA.
On September 11, 2001, Chris boarded American Airlines, Flight 11, bound to California from Boston. He was traveling with his manager, David Retik, when his plane was diverted into the World Trade Center. Christopher Mello lost his life that day, but as we remember his life, his accomplishments, and his enduring goodness, his legacy lives on.
