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By LINDA HALFREY
Staff writer
There are dozens of pictures on the Web site devoted to Christine Barbuto, a 32-year-old Peabody native killed when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center.
In brilliant color, photos plucked from family albums have been posted on www.christinebarbuto.com, a touching reminder of a young woman's vibrant life.
They show Christine, her brown, curly hair blowing in the wind, at a beach in Chatham with her nieces and nephews, smiling in the sun.
There is Christine at her graduation from Peabody High School in 1986, wearing a mortar board and a brilliant smile. And with friends on an outing in Boston, shoulder-to-shoulder, a carefree soul who touched so many.
"We know that you all knew Christine in your own special way. To us, she was a loving daughter, passionate sister, and a devoted aunt," writes Dianne Walsh, one of Barbuto's two sisters.
Barbuto grew up in Peabody and went on to study fashion merchandising at the University of Rhode Island. She was heading to Los Angeles on a buying trip for TJX Companies on Sept. 11.
While her family has carefully put together the Web site, Barbuto's friend Gayle Piraino has spent the past year also working to ensure her friend will never be forgotten.
Today, she is never far from Piraino's mind.
"It's still so unbelievable," said Piraino, a Rockport resident who established a memorial fund last fall in Barbuto's name.
Piraino, vice president of Acme apparel in Gloucester, was able to raise nearly $3,000 for the Christine Barbuto Memorial Fund during fund-raisers held this past year.
She designed and sold 300 baseball hats bearing an embroidered American flag, and after her stock sold out quickly, she began ordering more. This summer, she also designed a second hat and donated all the proceeds to the Rockport Firemen's Association.
Contributions to the Christine Barbuto Memorial Fund can be sent c/o Fleet Bank, 172 Park St., North Reading, MA 01864. For more information, contact Piraino at (978) 546-7914 or e-mail gpiraino@shore.net.