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A friend of mine for almost 2 decades. You are thought of and missed every day.

Doris S. Torres was soft-spoken, sweet, and very petite — about five feet tall. But "she had so much inner strength that she seemed to be like seven feet tall," said her sister, Mercedes.

On Sept. 11 and for a few days after, Ms. Torres made great use of that strength. She worked in foreign trade for Fiduciary Trust International, and left her office on the 97th floor of the south tower as soon as the first plane hit the north tower. She helped an emotional colleague down a few flights and returned to help others. Ms. Torres eventually made it out of the building, but she was severely burned. She was taken to St. Vincent's Manhattan Hospital, where she died on Sept. 16, her family said.

Ms. Torres, 32, was a private woman, but she kept her family close. She shared a house in the Bronx with her mother, Blanca Cruz-Aquino. "I miss her every day," Mrs. Cruz-Aquino said. "I continue to hear her steps every morning, coming down the steps to go to work."

The eldest of four children raised in Brooklyn, Ms. Torres considered raising her son, Anthony Small, 15, her greatest accomplishment. "Her biggest passion and her biggest pride was her son," said Ms. Torres's sister, who is now his guardian. "They were very close."

It is a pride that they now return, many times over. "She is my hero," said Mrs. Cruz-Aquino. "I have my hope that some day I'm going to hug her and give her a kiss. I know I will."

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on May 19, 2002.