A Date In A Life ~ A little birthday dirge

Joseph Sotack was my neighbor when I lived in a 6 floor walk-up on Rivington Street, on Manhattan's Lower East Side.  Joe died on my birthday in the year 1991.
________________, was a nurse who worked at the preschool where I was employed when I became pregnant with J.T.  She became my friend.
She died on my birthday in 1998, the year J.T. was born.

The back of the remembrance card Joe's wife gave me after his funeral, read: "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."  Today is my birthday.

The nurse ended her life by jumping off the rooftop of her father's high rise building in Midtown Manhattan.  She was born in Brazil.  I used to know her name.