By Don Keelan

Mary Fitzgerald has been a part-time resident of Manchester, Vermont for over 20 years. She bought her home there soon after the tragedy of 9/11 while still remaining a full-time resident in Westchester County. 

Mary (not her real name) has memories of that infamous day unlike most of us. Last month, she took time to share with me what she and her family experienced. It was the first time in 25 years she was willing to discuss what she has lived with since that fateful day.  

For Mary, her husband John, and their four children, the morning of September 11^th started like most late-summer mornings. John had to be at work a bit early–he left home and arrived at the World Trade Center’s South Tower’s 95th floor well before 8 AM.  

Mary made sure Jimmy and Kathy got to their local Catholic High School; Jenny was home from college; and her sister, Susan, was off to her third year of college morning classes in Boston.

Mary was attending to her morning chores when a phone call came from a friend informing her that a plane had crashed into the WTC’S North Tower. Immediately, Mary turned on the TV; the news images were pure chaos and incomprehensible. Clarification was soon to come. 

Within minutes, Mary received a call from John, who described what he was witnessing from his office window. The North Tower was engulfed in smoke and flames. Then John looked west and told Mary another plane was heading directly at his tower, just below the 95^th floor. 

The words that John spoke to Mary, at that very moment, are exceptionally emotional and will not be shared by this writer. 

On the morning of Sept. 11th, John was a senior executive at a financial firm. He and his co-executive were responsible for ensuring that, during an emergency, all employees moved to a safe location. According to Mary, it is impossible to assess what he did. On Sept. 11th, the firm had approximately 500 employees at the WTC, and 350 made it to safety. 

John and Mary met while still in high school on Long Island and shared the same employer, selling tickets and popcorn at their local movie theater. They both went off to college, and John became a CPA. In 1977, they married. 

Mary was never officially informed that her husband was killed. Weeks later, the government provided her with some of John’s identifiable remains.

A funeral Mass was held, and an interment took place at the family’s cemetery plot in Westchester.    

According to Mary, there were so many aspects to deal with after that day. How she and her children coped will also remain private. What was difficult, however, was the everyday reminder: the constant news and ever-present neighbors and friends providing assistance. It went on for weeks, months, and longer. 

Mary describes being in an elevator, anonymous as one can be, when the discussion turns to the attacks. Her desire not to comment takes over, and it has stayed that way ever since.  However, Mary did attend the NYC 10^th Memorial commemoration of 9/11. The Memorial’s museum includes some of her husband’s mementos.   

Mary and John often came to Vermont to ski. Manchester was a place they frequently thought of owning a home. She fulfilled John’s wish. Today, her four married children, their spouses, and nine grandchildren can share the dream their father and grandfather once wished for them.

In listening to Mary, it is unmistakably clear that she still holds animosity toward those who flew the planes and killed close to 3,000. She harbors the same feelings toward the country from which they came. 

I asked her what she wishes to tell my readers as we commemorate the 25^th Anniversary of that dreadful day. Her response, “May we never forget.” 

Mary’s Manchester home is the magnet that brings her extended family together. 2027 will be a special year.  At any family gathering. John will look down on the gathering from a very special place. May God continue to bestow His blessings on all of the John and Mary Fitzgerald families.