A former deputy chief of public safety at the City University of New York died of 9/11-related brain cancer over the weekend.
Deputy Chief John P. McKee is the school's first 9/11 responder to succumb to an illness tied to the aftermath of the attacks, according to The New York Post.
The 49-year-old died at his home in Lynbrook, Long Island at 6:25 p.m. on Saturday, friend and former colleague, CUNY Lt. Anthony Laperuta told the newspaper.
McKee responded to Ground Zero immediately following the attacks and spent three straight days living there to deal with issues related to the City University of New York. He then spent a month working on search-and-recovery efforts at the WTC site.
Although he participated in regular screenings for responders as part of a program at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, nothing unusual showed up until he fell ill in November 2012. An MRI revealed a golf-ball sized tumor in his brain. He was diagnosed as glioblastoma multiforme Stage IV cancer and underwent surgery the following January.
"He was a tough Irishman. John was the best -- he fought until the end with his last breath," his wife, Sandy Santiago McKee, told the newspaper. "He was happy he could die at home instead of at a hospital."
McKee began his career with CUNY in 1992, but grew weaker after his cancer diagnosis and went out on permanent disability in July 2014.
McKee survived by his wife and three children from a prior marriage.
Funeral Arrangements
A wake will be held Flinch & Bruns Funeral Home, at 34 Hempstead Ave., in Lynbrook on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon, 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
A funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, at St. Raymond Church, 263 Atlantic Ave., East Rockaway, Long Island, followed by burial at Saint Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale.
