122588

A Daily Goodbye Kiss

On the evening of Sept. 10, Michael Asher called his son, Jeremy, into the den to show him a sleek computer image of an old Jaguar, whose engine he wanted Jeremy to help him replace and rebuild. Jeremy, 18, was eager to work on the project. But that day may never come. Mr. Asher, 53, who worked on the 101st floor of 1 World Trade Center at eSpeed, a spinoff of Cantor Fitzgerald, is missing.

"I was really into it even though I don't know that much about cars," Jeremy said of rebuilding the engine. "It was a chance to spend time with my father."

Mr. Asher was not only good with cars. He was a family man who enjoyed spending time with his son and daughter, Rachel, 16, at home in Monroe, N.Y., as well as rebuilding computers, creating software programs and listening to jazz.

He was also a man of habits, said his wife, Dana. One of them was "to kiss me goodbye before leaving for work at 6:30 a.m. while I was still asleep," she said.

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on October 4, 2001.