Deepa K. Pakkala, 31 (SNYT)
Deepa was a perfectionist. She went to work early and returned home to her NJ home late. When she got home, she often cleaned - down to every last spot of dirt.
She was a consultant for Oracle and was working for a client at the World Trade Center. The morning of the attack she was at her desk - before she had to be.
Her husband, whom she met in India, realized that her drive was an essential part of her, but he often tried to persuade her to scale back, if just a little. He said that he would always ask her to go in a little later. "She would say, 'If I do that, I would have to leave my job.' "
Ms. Pakkala did slow down for the birth of their first child, Trisha, on the couple's 9th anniversary. She took two months off, but then it was back to work. "She didn't want to stay at home and do nothing," Mr. Pakkala said, "She wanted to contribute to the family." |
