Douglas B. Gurian, 38, found pleasure in simple things like two-inch thick steaks, the ocean, his two young children. He would call his friends out of the blue, put the receiver up to the stereo speaker, say, "Listen to this riff, man," and just as abruptly hang up. He went to West Point, but he was anything but straight-laced.

In the summers, when he took his family to Fire Island, Mr. Gurian would take his shoes off before they reached the shore and not put them on again for days. Each morning started with a jump into the ocean. "He was the most quirky, fun-loving guy," said Susan Gurian, his wife of almost 10 years.

Mr. Gurian worked at Radianz, a financial services technology company. On the morning of Sept. 11, he was at Windows on the World, a technology conference.