The heartbroken sister of World Trade Center victim Boyd Gatton is making a final trip to New York today to finalise his affairs and to pack up his apartment.

But, for Pauline O'Connor, the trip across the Atlantic will seem even harder than others in recent weeks, as only eight days ago her sister and confidant Sharon Smith lost a long, hard battle with cancer.

On September 10, Ms O'Connor had both a brother and a sister that she depended on and cared for.

But now, just two months later, both have gone. And she blames the events of September 11 for suddenly taking away both of her siblings. The mother-of-two said: "I have to go back to Boyd's apartment to sort out all of his affairs, to pack up his belongings and to ship some of his things back to Bermuda.

"There is a lot to be done, and a lot to finalise, but I'm just not looking forward to going back there and facing it all alone.

"We all just feel totally shattered by what's happened. First we lost Boyd, and now my sister has gone.

"Sharon was not able to come to New York with me because of her illness, but we talked all the time while I was there, and we helped each other through Boyd's death. She helped me so much. Now, I have to face it without her, and I know that I'm going to miss her."

Boyd, 38, worked in the second of the Twin Towers to be attacked by suicide hijackers who crashed planes into the World Trade Centre, killing more than 6,000 people.

He worked for the Fiduciary Trust Company International on the 97th floor of the building, just above where the plane hit, leading rescue workers to advise his family that his body was not likely to be found.

His family at first hoped for the best, but feared the worst, but then had to come to terms with the fact that he was not coming home.

Ms O'Connor travelled to New York to hand DNA samples to the emergency services and to ultimately request a death certificate, while her sister Sharon stayed at home with her family and elderly mother Betty, waiting for her sister to return so that a memorial service could be held.

However, Sharon, 51, a teacher at West End Primary School, took a turn for the worse and died last Wednesday after undergoing chemotherapy treatment - before a memorial service could be held for her brother.

But Ms O'Connor believes the loss of Boyd hastened her death.

She added: "We never expected Sharon to get as sick as she did, as fast as she did. It happened so fast.

"I do believe his death brought about her death. I know with cancer sometimes death is inevitable, but I thought she was doing better. She had gone back to school, and the treatment seemed to be kicking in.

"She was very positive and her spirit was strong.

"It's very hard. I know that when I go in his apartment, it's going to really hit me. I still can't believe that my mother had three children and two have gone in just a matter of weeks."

However, Ms O'Connor is hoping to get much of Boyd's affairs sorted before her two daughters, niece and granddaughter arrive in New York for Thanksgiving next week.

The four of them had been planning to spend the holiday with their uncle Boyd at his apartment and had bought the air tickets before he died.

And although he will not be there to mark Thanksgiving with them, the four of them have decided to go anyway.

Ms O'Connor added: "It was going to be a special weekend that they had planned with Boyd, but they all feel that they still want to go.

"They were very close to Boyd and he was very excited about them visiting, so I think they feel they want to say goodbye to him one last time.

"Only one of my daughters has been (to New York) with me since it happened and it helped her to comprehend what had happened.

"We are going to visit Ground Zero again next week and I think it will help the others to comprehend it too. Perhaps it will bring some closure for them.

"Then when we come back we will plan a memorial service for Boyd, perhaps in December. And, hopefully, in January we can have a brand new start."