SFGATE: Luis Alvarez, who fought for 9/11 first responders, dies at 53
Published on June 30, 2019 at 05:02AM by Kayla Epstein, The Washington Post
Earlier this month, retired New York police detective Luis Alvarez delivered a heartbreaking plea to Congress to extend the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, which provides financial assistance to first responders who had developed illnesses after responding to the 2001 terrorist attacks.
On Saturday, his family confirmed that the New York Police Department veteran had died at 53, having succumbed the cancer he developed years after working at Ground Zero. His legacy is cemented in his advocacy for his fellow first responders. Politicians and activists vowed on Saturday to continue the fight in his name.
Family spokesman Matt McCauley confirmed to The Washington Post that Alvarez died in the early hours of Saturday morning due to "9/11-related cancer." Alvarez had developed colorectal and liver cancer in 2016.
He is survived by his wife, Alaine Parker Alvarez, and his three children: David, Tyler and Benjamin. He is also survived by his parents Felipe and Aida Alvarez, his sister Aida Lugo, and brothers Fernando and Philip Alvarez.
"It is with peace and comfort, that the Alvarez family announce that Luis (Lou) Alvarez, our warrior, has gone home to our Good Lord in heaven today," the family said in a statement. "Please remember his words, 'Please take care of yourselves and each other.' We told him at the end that he had won this battle by the many lives he had touched by sharing his three year battle. He was at peace with that, surrounded by family."
According to The New York Times, Alvarez joined the NYPD in 1990 and began his career at a Queens precinct. He rose through the ranks, being transferred to the Narcotics Division before becoming a detective. He ultimately became a bomb squad detective, before retiring in 2010.
After he became ill, Alvarez began...
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