At Gaddafi's Hands, 'He Missed Out on a Life'

There are two names on a memorial at Freedom Plaza in the township to remember those with local ties who died in the Lockerbie bombing nearly 23 years ago.

One is John Patrick "J.P." Flynn, and was killed in the terrorist attack flying to the U.S. from London after studying abroad. His parents still live in town.

The other is a man who never lived in Montville, but whose wife remarried and moved to Montville in 1996. He was the first husband of township resident Wendy Sefcik.

William D. Giebler Jr., known as Jay, and Sefcik were married nine months and living in London for Giebler's job. They were flying back to U.S. at different times to visit family for the holidays, which is why they weren't on the flight together, she said.

Sefcik later married Steve Sefcik and they moved to Montville and had three children.

After hearing the news Thursday that Muammar Gaddafi, who accepted Libya's responsibility for the bombing, was killed by Libyan rebels, Sefcik said she is grateful Gaddafi won't have an impact on the world any more. But there is not a sense of closure for her.

"There's none of that because it does not change the fact that the 270 lives lost are still lost,” she said.

“He missed out on a life,” Sefcik said of her first husband.

She told Ladies Home Journal for a story in 1998 that if she could talk to Gaddafi, she would say she feels sorry for him because he has so much hate in his heart. On Thursday, she said her feelings remain exactly the same.

Freedom Plaza at , which remembers Sept. 11 victims and victims of all terrorist attacks, was dedicated in 2004. Because Montville became Sefcik's home, they included Giebler's name.

"The town was very gracious, and very, very kind," Sefcik said. "He was born and raised in Jackson, New Jersey, and because I was a longstanding member of the community it was a way to show support."

In December, Sefcik experienced another loss, the death of her son Taylor Jay "T.J." Sefcik, who was suffering from depression and committed suicide at the age of 16.

Still, Sefcik says she is blessed. She and her husband have a son John, 18, who graduated from last year, and a son Matt, 14, who is a freshman at Morristown-Beard School.

"I've had great tragedy, but I've also had great joy," Sefcik said. She said she considers herself blessed because of the love that has been, and still is, in her life.