It rained the day they left New York City and it rained on them all the way to Georgia.

"I said New York City was crying because we left," said Georgette Gill, from the front porch of the new home she and husband John just moved into in Abacoa's Tuscany community.

Left behind are New York and the anxieties and pressures of the city where John's son, Georgette's stepson, Paul John Gill perished in the hell of September 11, 2001.

The Jupiter Courier has written before about the painful transition of John and Georgette Gill. They've moved from a husband and wife numbed by the fresh grief of 9/11, in which firefighter Paul Gill died with 15 other members of his Engine Company 54, to a couple more at peace -- but still haunted by that ghastly day and its aftermath.

For a look at how they treasure the memory of the life of the strapping firefighter with the quirky grin, visit the website Georgette has helped set up to keep that memory alive: www.angelfire.com/ny5/paulgill. It tells the story of the young father of two little boys and his heroic efforts to save people from the Mariott Hotel near the doomed twin towers of the World Trade Center.

It celebrates his life and his artistry, and it mourns his death.

In a previous story, the psychological wounds still gaping, Georgette referred to her New York as "a city with a hole in its skyline."

Now she and John have left behind the crying city, the hole in the skyline and many of the demons that would not go away. They moved into their fresh, new home with an alley beside it and strange new flowers and trees decorating it. They're putting down roots, finding some peace and moving on.

"People say get over it," said Georgette on her front porch. "You never get over something like this." But, she acknowleges, it was time to move.

The day I knew we had to leave was the day they handed out emergency packs at my office," she said. Her office was on the 29th floor of the MetLife Building adjacent to Grand Central Station. The packages contained a gas mask, water, a flashlight and other gear - the kind of things that cause flashbacks to hurtling bombs that were commercial airliners and toppling buildings that were the spine of New York's financial district.

It was a hell of a way to live," Georgette said, her gray-blue eyes damp. So they left.

Settling In

"I like the idea of a new beginning," said John. "It's so peaceful here. We're making friends with our neighbors; a young couple just dropped by to say hello and visit. It's such a nice, mixed community." A neighborhood youngster with no pool has adopted John -- and his pool.

John's an engineer, and he might like to do some part-time work here. He also wants to golf -- a lot.

Georgette's taking a break from her job as a legal secretary. "I'm kind of job hunting," she said. "I like working with kids or animals." But she, too, wants to take time to sit back, learn her new commuity, put her new house together -- and keep on celebrating Paul's life.

Remembering Paul

They'll put some of his plaques and awards into a display case in the den. And they will keep updating the wbsite, which is a work in progress. The site was started shortly after 9/11 by a Dutch woman who felt she needed to do something to help the stricken families.

Georgette has pretty well taken on the job of keeping it updated. She's also deep into compiling a book commemorating the 9/11 victims who created art works. She's calling the book "Shine On: The Legacy of 9/11."

But it's become a strain on her, so she's taking a break from it. "This move is a respite for me," she said.

They've resolved to let their commemoration of Paul be low-key. Although John's pain is still substantial, he smiles and says, "If it comes up in conversation, that's fine. We're not going to push it." But he does have business cards with Paul's photo and the website address that he hands out.

Getting Involved

What makes the move even more comfortable is the fact that Georgette and John know the area. They've visited for a dozen years with friends Jo and Jack Demerac in Tequesta. And close friends Steve [Scott] and Essie Margolis have moved into a corner house in Tuscany less than a block away.

But there is so much the Gills have to learn and do.

"I'm looking to get involved with a church." Georgette declared.

I want to volunteer to do something," said John.

And they both want to get a golden retriever and name her Daisy.

When the Gills' moving van arrived one morning last week, it was raining. But the rain stopped just in time for the crew to unload. They finished at noon -- and the clouds opened up again.

Said Georgette, "We just felt that for those hours when the sun was out, Paul was smiling on us."

- randall.murray@scripps.com