Maureen DeMarco was thinking of her brother before she left for Detroit. She was armed with excerpts from books such as The Prophet, which she planned to read at his memorial service.

Her brother, Brian ''Butch'' Scully, 36, an airplane mechanic in North Carolina, died three days before Christmas in a cargo jet crash. Mrs. DeMarco, 37, planned to meet their grieving mother at Detroit Metro Airport, and travel together to their hometown.

But as Adele Colagiovanni waited at Gate A9, she learned that the oldest of her four children met the same fate.

Back in the Denver suburb of Englewood, husband Tony DeMarco stayed home with their 8-year-old daughter, Alexandra, expecting his wife back by today.

Mrs. DeMarco, head of the foreign language department at St. Mary's Academy outside Denver, planned to be back in the classroom Monday, teaching Spanish.

Instead, mourners streamed into their house after learning of the family's added tragedy.

''It's beyond belief,'' said Mr. DeMarco, a sports writer at the Denver Post. ''There's no odds for it.''

It seemed the two would be together forever.

They grew up in Harper Woods, Mich., and fell in love as teen-agers working at a movie theater. They attended Wayne State University and married in 1986.

''We always pretty much agreed on everything,'' Mr. DeMarco said, searching for the right words. ''She was smart, demanding, a great mom. It was a good situation.''