Arthur J. Darby

On June 20, 2022, the New York City Fire Department lost another brother due to September 11th-related illnesses.

Born July 10, 1956, in Brooklyn, New York, he went to Saint Brendan’s Grammar School and graduated from Grady High School. After he was injured in the New York City Fire Department, Arthur, his wife, and two children moved to Florida in 2005. From the time he was a young boy, his family spent the summers in Breezy Point Rockaway, Queens. Arthur worked on his father’s clam boat in Sheepshead Bay. By age 20, he brought his own commercial fishing boat, “The Tammy Gail.” He loved staying busy, so he invested in real estate properties and learned how to become the most handsome, handiest man ever. He just loved helping everyone. Arthur came from a family serving New York City as policemen; as for Arthur, he wanted to be a firefighter. He was appointed on June 22, 1982, to Ladder 172/Engine 330. On August 4, 1991, he was promoted to lieutenant and transferred to Ladder 147/Engine 281. On September 2, 2002, he went to Marine 9, from which he retired on November 20, 2003. He was an outdoorsman who loved boating, fishing, swimming, biking, racquetball, and snow skiing. He was a wild, tall, fearless water skier and enjoyed traveling. He just loved being with family and friends. He always had a smile on his face and a personality bigger than life.

Arthur was a devoted and loving husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and a true friend. He was generous, fun, loving, kind—a man who loved and lived life fully and is missed by many. If you were fortunate enough to have known Arthur, you would recall a fond memory.

Arthur served in the rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, and for several months after. He was diagnosed with 9/11-related cancer and passed away on June 20, 2022. Life as we knew it is forever changed, but with our beliefs, he is with “God.”