It has been the most painful thing that I have done so far is to take care of your death wishes. But it is with great pleasure that I do it for you. You always have been so private and it is with honor that I invade your privacy.

With all discoveries that I did I want to emphasize that you just grew in my memories and in my heart.

I always admired you, your personality, your beauty, your mind and your hunger for life.

Love always,

Tadeu e Carlos

Sandra Fajardo Smith heard that her dear cousin, Wanda Fajardo, was feeling lonely and wanted to return to their native Brazil to celebrate her 43rd birthday, she would have none of it. Stay in New York, she told Wanda. Let me organize a birthday party. Trust me, you’ll have a good time.

Ms. Smith was right. She was good at cheering people up. She was effervescent, always smiling. She loved her job as an accountant at Marsh & McLennan, loved working out at the gym, loved all of the city’s cultural offerings.

But she especially loved her cousin. The two had grown up together, in a small inland town, and had come to New York more than a decade ago. And even though Ms. Smith was seven years younger, Ms. Fajardo relied increasingly on Ms. Smith for advice. "Sandra was so strong, so mature, and there was no one that I trusted more," said Ms. Fajardo, whose birthday party took place on Sept. 9. "She was like my therapist. I told her everything. Now, I don’t know who I’m going to talk to."