A Life Remembered - CeeCee Ross Lyles

Since 2006, I have been committed to Project 2996 in order to remember the lives of those lost on a beautiful September morning in 2001. Thank you for stopping by and remembering CeeCee with me. And after you have read my tribute I invite and encourage you to visit other blogs and read their tributes to those lives stolen from us. A list of participants and a link to their blogs and web pages can be found here. In 2012, Darryl started a board on Pinterest. Go visit and never forget. 

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.--Matthew 11:25-30

"When CeeCee Lyles was born on Thanksgiving 1967, she had two mothers: her birth mother, Shirley Adderly, who was 17, and her adopted mother, Shirley's older sister, Carrie Ross, who was 28.

"We raised her together," says Ross. "She was the most wonderful thing two people could have."

They call CeeCee the "center of our fun." They say when she grew up, she always got the family together - had them over for dinner, arranged family card games, picnics and dinners out.

She'd show up at their homes unexpectedly with a fresh pan of lasagna and a salad, then call the rest of the family to join them. She'd drive all day to surprise her brother Tony Ross in Nashville, just to hang out with him for a night."

"CeeCee grew up in Fort Pierce and raised her sons on her own until she married Lorne in May 2000 and later moved to Fort Myers. Emulating her mother and aunts, she never took welfare, instead working two or three jobs while volunteering at Restoration House, a Christian women's shelter that two of her aunts founded in Fort Pierce.

CeeCee was a role model, showing women they could make their own way without leeching off the system," said her aunt, Mareya Schneider. "In the last few years, she really dedicated herself to the Lord and she would use Scripture to explain that if you don't work, you don't eat."

 She was a cop for six years in Fort Pierce, Florida. Fellow police officer Wendy Burstein said she loved the rush, the adrenaline. "Fort Pierce is a pretty tough place. We were always getting in fights, having guns pulled on us."  She and her husband, Lorne met when she was a patrol officer and he was a dispatcher. She encouraged him to follow his dream and become a policeman and when he did get a job in Fort Meyers, she took that opportunity to pursue her dream job-- becoming a flight attendant.  CeeCee was a tough woman but completely caring, unselfish, kind and down to earth. Her husband said she possessed the kind of beauty that was "so precisely achieved as to appear casual and low-maintenance." She wouldn't even go to the grocery without fixing her hair, putting on lipstick and checking her nails.  Lorne, her husband loved her feet--- the way they were shaped and pedicured. To him, her feet were perfect.

CeeCee was able to speak to Lorne on the phone one last time. The words to her husband were of love---  love of him, love of her sons, love of their life together... she and her husband said a prayer over the phone together. Then it was time... The crew and passengers of United Flight 93 had work to do....

"Just hearing my wife saying she loved us through all that chaos on that plane is just embedded in my heart forever," said Lorne Lyles, her husband and a Ft. Myers police office. "That's my baby. She's my heart, she's my soul, she is my everything. That's my memory." 

CeeCee Ross Lyles

1967 - 2001

This tribute marks the 11th one I have completed. My commitment has always been to write about each one of the souls from United Flight 93.... If I complete one per year-- I will finish this by the year 2042.... I will be 77 years old. I just wanted to provide a little perspective on how many and how much we lost that day.

2013: I remember CeeCee Ross Lyles
2012: I remember Louis J. Nacke II
2011: I remember Jeremy Glick.

2011: I remember Mark Bingham.
2010: I remember Don and Jean Peterson.
2009: I remember Hilda Marcin.
2008: I remember Toshiya Kuge.
2007: I remember Tom Burnett.
2007: I remember Deora Bodley.
2006: I remember Marion Britton.

Sources:
United Flight 93 & the Passengers & Crew Who Fought Back: Among the Heroes by Jere Longman
YouTube
Legacy
Post-Gazette
Tampa Bay Times
BET

A Life Remembered - Louis J. Nacke II

Since 2006 Dale C. Roe has organized an effort called Project 2996 in order to remember the lives of those lost on a beautiful September morning in 2001. Thank you for stopping by and remembering Louis with me. And after you have read my tribute I invite and encourage you to visit other blogs and read their tributes to those lives stolen from us. A list of participants and a link to their blogs and webpages can be found here. New for 2012 is a board on Pinterest.  

At 5'9" and 195 lbs with a body built like a weight lifter, I was immediately drawn to photos of Louis Joseph Nacke II when researching for this year's tribute. You see, that describes my husband of 21 years... Upon closer investigation, Louis and my husband share a birthday, September 9 and an awful Magnum P.I." mustache in older photos...Seeing those mustached pictures along with unruly hair caused me to giggle out loud. How adorable.  I was smitten and immediately knew I had to get to know more about this man.

Joey, as his family calls him, was born September 9, 1959 and was one of four kids. His family moved quite a bit and attended several schools finally settling in Pennsylvania. He graduated from George Washington High School in 1977 and Pennsylvania is what he considered home...  He had two teenage sons from his first marriage to his high school sweetheart and from all accounts I read still had an amicable relationship with his first wife. He married Amy on September 16, 2000. On September 11, 2001, he had just celebrated his 42nd birthday, was about to celebrate his 1 year anniversary to his bride and they were literally just a few days away from moving into their dream home...

Lou was a man that liked to be in charge and to those that knew and loved him he seemed indestructible. When he was a boy while dressed in a some Superman pajamas and a cape, he ran through a glass door which required 100 stitches. Years later, he got a Superman tatoo to commemorate the incident. 

Growing up in Western Pennsylvania he became a loyal and passionate fan of the Steelers and Pirates . He had developed a love for fine wines and had a discriminating palate. He and his wife Amy went to Napa Valley for their honeymoon in 2000. He avidly read wine magazines and spoke to experts until he himself became an expert. His father-in-law had a wine cellar and Lou would laugh and tell him, "When you're not around, I go in your wine cellar, get naked and roll around." He loved Emeril Lagasse. "BAM!" Lou knew a little bit about everything and loved to talk endlessly, but even "if he knew nothing about a topic he could make it up. He could BS with the best of them." He was meticulous and immaculate. He loved his red corvette and was caught cleaning the vents with a Q-Tip. However, he loved his wife more so he sold the corvette and bought Amy a pair of diamond earrings. "He was a rock with a soft spot in it." 

 He had a temper that afforded him the ability to never back away from anything or anyone. He was never anyone to allow something to slide. Additionally, he was fiercely protective of those he loved. Lou was an "in your face kind of guy and would not back down. He would cause a conflict just to make sure you understood his viewpoint." His sister, Paula remembers a guy she had dated that Lou and her other brother Ken did not like. The brothers hung the guy off the back deck by his ankles. She never had another date with him. "Your family's crazy."He once punched a guy through the window of the car when the driver nearly ran over his brother in a parking lot. Another time when a driver cut him off on the road, Lou got out of his car at a red light and said, "You got something to say to me? I'll knock you back into your Generation X." He was not a man would would wither from confrontation.  

On the morning of September 11, 2001. Lou was on his way to solve a problem for a customer. It wasn't something he particularly wanted to do, but he knew it was necessary and if anyone could smooth the ruffled feathers of an upset customer, it was going to be Lou.  Instead, this man like the other passengers of United Flight 93 were asked to solve a problem that goes beyond comprehension. But Lou was not a guy that would back down from a confrontation especially if it meant protecting people he loved.

Louis Joseph Nacke II
September 9, 1959 - September 11, 2001

2012: I remember Louis J. Nacke II
2011: I remember Jeremy Glick.

2011: I remember Mark Bingham.
2010: I remember Don and Jean Peterson.2009: I remember Hilda Marcin.2008: I remember Toshiya Kuge.2007: I remember Tom Burnett.2007: I remember Deora Bodley.2006: I remember Marion Britton.

Sources:
United Flight 93 & the Passengers & Crew Who Fought Back: Among the Heroes by Jere Longman

http://www.zimbio.com/Todd+Beamer/articles/EntEiG3uQwb/9+11+10th+Anniversary+Let+take+moment+remember

http://www.legacy.com/sept11/story.aspx?personid=93240

http://old.post-gazette.com/headlines/20011028flt93nackebiop8.asp

http://www.unitedheroes.com/Louis-Nacke.html

http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/7184590/a-memorial-motion-family-friends-run-nyc-marathon-honor-flight-93-victims

A Life Remembered - Jeremy Glick

 

Since 2006 Dale C. Roe has organized an effort called Project 2996 in order to remember the lives of those lost on a beautiful September morning in 2001. Thank you for stopping by and remembering Jeremy with me. And after you have read my tribute I invite and encourage you to visit other blogs and read their tributes to those lives stolen from us. A list of participants and a link to their blogs and webpages can be found here.

*

The sun set, but set not his hope: Stars rose; his faith was earlier up: Fixed on the enormous galaxy, Deeper and older seemed his eye; And matched his sufferance sublime The taciturnity of time. He spoke, and words more soft than rain Brought the Age of Gold again: His action won such reverence sweet As hid all measure of the feat. -- Character by Ralph Waldo Emerson Jeremy  was one of 6 children, he being the middle and shares his birthday with my baby brother, September 3. All were athletic--- he being the most competitive--- fiercely competitive. He attended Saddle River Day School where he was the captain of the soccer and wrestling teams. He played lacrosse and rugby. He loved to ski. He and his future wife Lyzbeth would be Prom King and Queen. From the time Jeremy was 7 years old until he left for college he took Judo lessons from Sensei Nagayasu Ogaswara. It was at the University of Rochester, where he was the president of his fraternity and where he would take the 1993 National Collegiate Judo Championship in San Francisco--- but without a team, without a coach. It was at this competition that he and his old sensei would reconnect.  Sensei was coach to the West Point team when he spotted Jeremy. He watched in delight and utter fascination as Jeremy, a black belt, took and defeated each opponent one by one.   Jeremy had taken a position with Vividence, an internet service provider of products about the behavior, thoughts and attitudes of web customers.  As he progressed in his career, and would interview potential employees, he would ask, "Do you love to win or do  you hate to lose?"   There was only one answer as far as Jeremy was concerned--- hating to lose...  Jeremy and Lyzbeth married in 1996 and had a daughter in June 2001. He and Lyz had known each other for 18 years--- He spotted Lyz in Biology class--- still remembered her dress and the perfume she wore. He would tell his closest friends he would marry her someday. Jeremy loved music and poetry and philosophy--- his favorite poet was Ralph Waldo Emerson. So, this man, 6' 2" and 220 lbs. in stature was also a quiet and reflective man. He had a Yin/Yan tattoo on his shoulder--- always looking for balance in his life. Like Mark Bingham, Jeremy always looked out for the underdog--- wanting to make sure that his actions were balanced and made sense.  In a discussion about Eastern philosophies with a longtime friend, he disagreed with the belief that the dead know only one thing, that it is better to be alive. Jeremy thought some things were worse than death. There are things you can do to  yourself, regretful things, and you end up less than zero. Or in Sophie's Choice, where the mother had to choose between her son and daughter at Auschwitz.  Jeremy said, Wouldn't you rather die than make a choice like that?

The light of his life was his daughter Emmy. She was born prematurely and Jeremy was the doting father. He would stay up with the baby all night so that Lyz could get some rest.

On that fateful day, he consulted his wife in a call that was nearly 30 minutes on what he should do. Jeremy and Lyz were able to express their love for one another. Lyz said nothing was left unsaid.... He wanted to get back home to his family, to his wife, to his 4 month old daughter, Emmy.  He made a decision--- an unthinkable decision. He and the other heroes of Flight 93 decided to take back the plane.  

We said 'I love you' 1000 times over and over again and it just brought so  much peace to us. Jeremy said, 'I love Emmy', who is our daughter and to take care of her. Jeremy then said, 'Whatever decisions you make in your life, I need you to be happy and I will respect any decisions that you make.'  I love you.... I love you....

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Jeremy Glick

1970 - 2001

2012: I remember Louis J. Nacke II
2011: I remember Jeremy Glick.

2011: I remember Mark Bingham.
2010: I remember Don and Jean Peterson.
2009: I remember Hilda Marcin.
2008: I remember Toshiya Kuge.
2007: I remember Tom Burnett.
2007: I remember Deora Bodley.
2006: I remember Marion Britton.

Sources:
United Flight 93 & the Passengers & Crew Who Fought Back: Among the Heroes by Jere Longman

http://www.unitedheroes.com/Jeremy-Glick.html

http://post-gazette.com/headlines/20011028flt93glickbiop8.asp

http://espn.go.com/columns/wojnarowski/1251966.html

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3080114/

http://www.rochester.edu/pr/Review/V74N1/0404_sept11.html

http://www.jeremysheroes.com/

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/brennan/story/2011-09-07/Family-remains-inspired-by-Sept-11-hero-Jeremy-Glick/50304842/1

A Life Remembered - Mark Bingham

Since 2006 Dale C. Roe has organized an effort called Project 2996 in order to remember the lives of those lost on a beautiful September morning in 2001. Thank you for stopping by and remembering Mark with me. And after you have read my tribute I invite and encourage you to visit other blogs and read their tributes to those lives stolen from us. A list of participants and a link to their blogs and webpages can be found here.
*
I am with you. I AM WITH YOU.  These are words that mean something to rugby players.  Mark's mother, Alice Hoagland explained what it means, "One guy has the ball and is charging forward trying to get a try and is paced on both sides by a fellow player, who is chanting ‘with you, with you’ to let him know where he is--To let him know that he’s not alone and he has friends in the fight.”  Mark Bingham was once such friend to all of us one dreadful and beautiful morning ten years ago. 

Mark Bingham was a larger than life kind of guy. He was constantly on the go as president of his own public relations firm traveling coast to coast. He loved his Jaegermister and Cosmopolitans. Mark was the guy that was loud, vibrant, and gregarious. He was the guy at the gathering that made you feel comfortable and not out of place. He was fiercely competitive and a protector of those he cared for. He saved his uncle from drowning, fought armed muggers, rescued a little girl from a busy street. He always took care of the underdog, the little guy, the guy that was picked on and teased. He was the guy that took care of you. If you met him, you were a friend for life. In July 2001,  Mark and a group of friends went to Pamplona to run with the bulls.  Mark wore the traditional white with red sashes. He was caught on the horns of a bull and was stomped upon. He took it in stride and would often show the hoof print on his leg.  

Mark Bingham attended Los Gatos High School and was a graduate of University of California, Berkeley where he was president of his fraternity. He played for Berkeley's rugby team and was a key member bringing home two national championships. 

It was on the field at the age of 16 where Mark showed the true grit of his being. At 6 ft. 5 in. and 220 lbs., he found his home, his love and his passion for rugby.  There is a clip of him as a teenager where he says with a big grin, "Give blood, play rugby."  As a kid, Mark was shy, awkward, sensitive and insecure. With his athletic ability and tenacity, rugby gave Mark the self confidence he needed to succeed in life.  As a rugby player, he was described as a guided missile, head down, going.  Rugby was not only a highly strategic game it was also very social--- after any game, you would find both teams in the local bar singing and quoting Shakespeare.  

With the confidence of his athletic prowess and his ability to make friends and his natural ability to lead others at the age of 21, in 1991 he came out to his mother and family and friends. Mark was not ashamed of his homosexuality, but he was worried others would think less of him.  To come out to jocks and his fraternity brothers showed his courage and sense of self.  This only made Mark more undefinable-- a rugby player, president of his fraternity, a Republican, gay----

Mark continued to play rugby after college.  He joined the San Francisco Fog - a gay rugby team.  He wrote the following email to his team mates when the Fog was accepted as a member of the Northern California Rugby Union:

When I started playing rugby at the age of 16, I always thought that my interest in other guys would be an anathema — completely repulsive to the guys on my team — and to the people I was knocking the shit out of on the other team. I loved the game, but KNEW I would need to keep my sexuality a secret forever. I feared total rejection.....
Now we’ve been accepted into the union and the road is going to get harder. We need to work harder. We need to get better. We have the chance to be role models for other gay folks who wanted to play sports, but never felt good enough or strong enough. More importantly, we have the chance to show the other teams in the league that we are as good as they are. Good rugby players. Good partiers. Good sports. Good men.
Gay men weren’t always wallflowers waiting on the sideline. We have the opportunity to let these other athletes know that gay men were around all along — on their little league teams, in their classes, being their friends.
This is a great opportunity to change a lot of people’s minds, and to reach a group that might never have had to know or hear about gay people.
Let’s go make some new friends ... and win a few games.

U.S. Senator John McCain eulogized Mark Bingham on September 17, 2001: 

"Mark Bingham was one of the men on United Airlines Flight 93 who rushed the hijackers and perished in the crash in southwestern Pennsylvania. He was a log cabin republican and a very active supporter of McCain's run for president. [...] I love my country, and I take pride in serving her. But I cannot say that I love her more or as well as Mark Bingham did, or the other heroes on United Flight 93 who gave their lives to prevent our enemies from inflicting an even greater injury on our country. It has been my fate to witness great courage and sacrifice for America's sake, but none greater than the selfless sacrifice of Mark Bingham and those good men who grasped the gravity of the moment, understood the threat, and decided to fight back at the cost of their lives. "In the Gospel of John it is written "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Such was the love that Mark and his comrades possessed, as they laid down their lives for others. A love so sublime that only God's love surpasses it. "It is now believed that the terrorists on Flight 93 intended to crash the airplane into the United States Capitol where I work, the great house of democracy where I was that day. It is very possible that I would have been in the building, with a great many other people, when that fateful, terrible moment occurred, and a beautiful symbol of our freedom was destroyed along with hundreds if not thousands of lives. I may very well owe my life to Mark and the others who summoned the enormous courage and love necessary to deny those depraved, hateful men their terrible triumph. Such a debt you incur for life. "I will try very hard, very hard, to discharge my public duties in a manner that honors their memory. All public servants are now solemnly obliged to do all we can to help this great nation remain worthy of the sacrifice of New York City firefighters, police officers, emergency medical people, and worthy of the sacrifice of the brave passengers on Flight 93. "No American living today will ever forget what happened on September 11, 2001. That day was the moment when the hinge of history swung toward a new era not only in the affairs of this nation, but in the affairs of all humanity. The opening chapter of this new history is tinged with great sadness and uncertainty. But as we begin please take strength from the example of the American we honor today, and those who perished to save others in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The days ahead will be difficult, and we will know more loss and sorrow. But we will prevail. We will prevail. "Pay no heed to the voices of the poor, misguided souls, in this country and overseas, who claim that America brought these atrocities on herself. They are deluded, and their hearts are cramped by hatred and fear. Our respect for Man's God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness assures us of victory even as it made us a target for the enemies of freedom who mistake hate and depravity for power. The losses we have suffered are grave, and must not be forgotten. But we should all take pride and unyielding resolve from the knowledge that we were attacked because we were good, and good we will remain as we vanquish the evil that preys upon us. "I never knew Mark Bingham. But I wish I had. I know he was a good son and friend, a good rugby player, a good American, and an extraordinary human being. He supported me, and his support now ranks among the greatest honors of my life. I wish I had known before September 11th just how great an honor his trust in me was. I wish I could have thanked him for it more profusely than time and circumstances allowed. But I know it now. And I thank him with the only means I possess, by being as good an American as he was. "America will overcome these atrocities. We will prevail over our enemies. We will right this terrible injustice. And when we do, let us claim it as a tribute to our liberty, and to Mark Bingham and all those who died to defend it. "To all of you who loved Mark, and were loved by him, he will never be so far from you that you cannot feel his love. As our faith informs us, you will see him again, when our loving God reunites us all with the loved ones who preceded us. Take care of each other until then, as he would want you to. May God bless Mark. And may God bless us all.  

So over the past few days, I have read countless articles about this man and find myself profoundly sad that his life was cut short and yet on the other hand profoundly relieved he was one of the heroes of United Flight 93. He along with Tom Burnett, Jeremy Glick and Todd Beamer made a decision-- an unthinkable decision that was right and good-- A decision no man should ever have to make. Mark called his aunt and mom, to say goodbye -to say I love you. Mark did what he had to do. This man that was described as a guided missile and as a huge Labrador Retriever bounding around through life, lived his last moments of  his precious life the way he had lived every single preceding moment--- always looking out for us.... all of us... the little guy...  May God keep him close and give comfort to those he left behind.

Here are two videos that I found moving:

An Unexpected Legacy
With You...

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother." - Henry V, William Shakespeare

With you, Mark Bingham
1970 - 2001

Thank you for stopping by and remembering Mark with me, if you have time, please visit my remembrances for other lost souls from United Flight 93.

2012: I remember Louis J. Nacke II
2011: I remember Jeremy Glick.

2011: I remember Mark Bingham.

2010: I remember Don and Jean Peterson.
2009: I remember Hilda Marcin.
2008: I remember Toshiya Kuge.
2007: I remember Tom Burnett.
2007: I remember Deora Bodley.
2006: I remember Marion Britton.

Sources:
United Flight 93 & the Passengers & Crew Who Fought Back: Among the Heroes by Jere Longman
http://www.markbingham.com/
http://news.yahoo.com/unexpected-legacy-left-by-hero-of-flight-93.html
http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-rugby/spec-rel/090811aab.html
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/gaybears/bingham/
Senator McCain's eulogy for Mark in it's entirety - http://www.freesampleeulogy.com/senator_john_mccain_eulogy_for_mark_bingham.html
quotes taken from family and loved ones:  Alice Hoagland, Matt Hall, Paul Holm, Amanda Mark, and Dave Kupiecki.

Happy 100th Birthday

Happy Birthday, Mr. President.

My grandfather, who is 86 years old has told me frequently that you, so far, have been the best president during his lifetime-- that timespan by the way is from our 29th president,  Warren G. Harding to present day our 44th president, Barack Obama. I wholeheartedly agree. I have nieces and nephews that never knew you.... I'm not even sure if you what you did as our president is even taught in school.

I will do what I can to teach and share with the children today why you were so loved....and hated...President Reagan, we sure do need someone like you right about now...



Prophetic words?  No... just looking at the reality of socialism and communism...

1961 LP from the American Medical Association

1964 RNC Convention

My husband frequently reminds me that we had to have a Jimmy Carter as president to get to a Ronald Reagan as president.

June 6, 1984 - Ceremony Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion, D-Day

1/2

2/2

May God continue to bless our shining city on a hill that you loved so dearly. Please know your shining city surely does miss you.

Two Lives Remembered: Donald Peterson & Jean Hoadley Peterson

Since 2006 Dale C. Roe has organized an effort called Project 2996 in order to remember the lives of those lost on a beautiful September morning in 2001. Thank you for stopping by and remembering Donald and Jean Peterson with me. And after you have read my tribute I invite and encourage you to visit other blogs and read their tributes to those lives stolen from us. A list of participants and a link to their blogs and webpages can be found here.

"Don't get so close to that ledge." These were the words my husband said to me three days ago as he grabbed my arm while I was taking photographs of the mountains in North Carolina. I didn't truly grasp how serious he was or how steep the drop off was from the side of the mountain. My protector. My husband. My love. In an instant, lives can change.

Donald and Jean Peterson were the only married couple aboard United Flight 93 on that fateful Tuesday morning in September. They were originally scheduled to fly on Flight 91, but arrived at the airport early and found they could catch an earlier flight and get on with their annual family vacation--- off to Yosemite National Forest. In an instant... lives can change.

Donald Peterson was retired and had been President of Continental Electric Motors Company, a company his grandfather had founded in Newark, New Jersey in 1922. Continental motors were used to provide back up water pressure in the World Trade Center. Donald earned a degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an MBA from Rutgers. Don was a member of the New Jersey Board of Higher Education. "Don was born into affluence and had lived a life of privilege. Divorce had brought about a painful life crisis for Don in the late 1970s, his son Dave Peterson said. In Jean, he seemed to find a kindred spirit."

Jean Hoadley Peterson was also retired as a registered nurse. She attended Duke University before transferring to Rochester University where she received her undergraduate degree in nursing. Later she earned her master's degree for education from Columbia University. Jean taught nursing and later became an emergency medical technician, riding in an ambulance that served Madison, New Jersey.

Both were divorced parents when they became acquainted through a Christian fellowship group in Madison, N.J. A mutual friend had set them up.

"I was in the eighth grade when Don arrived on our doorstep to meet her," Jennifer, Jean's oldest daughter said, laughing at the memory. "Basically, he never left."

Don and Jean married in 1984 and quietly devoted their lives to volunteer work in their church and within their community. Many had no idea how many people the Peterson's reached out to and helped. "They used their financial means to help a lot of people, but never showed they had means. They drove an average car, lived in a modest house for their town."

As born again Christians, Don and Jean devoted time and money to the neediest in their community. Don was devoted to America's Keswick, a Christian retreat and addiction recovery ministry. Don counseled men struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, staying in touch with many after leaving the center. Jean volunteered for Helping Hand Pregnancy Care Center. Jean was in charge of donations of clothing and diapers. She would take donated clothing home and washed them for needy mothers and their newborns. In 1999, Jean and her daughter Grace went on a medical mission to Ecuador assisting American doctors, distributing vitamins and performing medical checkups. Don loved to take people out to breakfast. Jean cooked, baby-sat and took people to doctors' visits.

They counseled couples with troubled marriages, provided character references in court, they also helped couples who needed a start and would loan money for mortgages and never charge interest. The Petersons led Bible studies and traveled with church friends to help a mission in Saint Lucia.

"They never talked about their lives. They talked about you because they cared to meet you, learn something about you and how to help you," said the Rev. Jim Loveland of Community Baptist Church in Neptune, N.J., where the couple had worshipped for about three years.

"So many people read the obituaries and said they'd had no idea that they had those degrees or that Don been a president of a big company."

While the Peterson's didn't live lavishly, they loved dining out, with Don seizing every opportunity to go out for breakfast. Jean seldom missed her regular stroll with a group along Spring Lake's boardwalk. They traveled. Two weeks before her death, Jean Peterson went to Wellesley, Mass., to hold her first grandchild, Jennifer Price's now-9-week-old daughter, Charlotte.

Nine years have passed since that dreadful day. Don and Jean left behind a blended family; he with three sons, she with three daughters and countless people whose lives were touched by their kindness and helping hand.

It's safe to say, I would have loved knowing these kind souls. From all the accounts I read, their belief and faith in God was strong. They lived humble lives despite all the wealth they had. No doubt there were warriors and leaders on that flight---someone once said there are no atheists in foxholes. I have no doubt Don and Jean were focused on a greater calling. Their focus and devotion to doing God's work was their calling.

I imagine in those last moments Don was comforting his wife and Jean was comforting her husband and yet they were most likely reaching out to others offering a message greater than anything the terrorists could unleash.

In an instant... lives were changed.

Two Lives Remembered,






Donald Peterson
1935 - 2001

Jean Hoadley Peterson
1946 - 2001

Resources:

Post Gazette
Among The Heroes: United Flight 93 and the Passengers and Crew Who Fought Back by Jere Longman
SF Flight 93 Memorial - Don Peterson
SF Flight 93 Memorial - Jean Hoadley Peterson
United Heroes
Legacy.com

2012: I remember Louis J. Nacke II

2011: I remember Jeremy Glick.

2011: I remember Mark Bingham.

2010: I remember Don and Jean Peterson
2009: I remember Hilda Marcin.
2008: I remember Toshiya Kuge.
2007: I remember Tom Burnett.
2007: I remember Deora Bodley.
2006: I remember Marion Britton.

Culture Determines the Success of a Society

Sunny - Hi 70 Lo 50 for Baghdad, Iraq
Partly Cloudy - Hi 62 Lo 37 for Qandahar, Afghanistan
Partly Cloudy - Hi 22 Lo 15 for Northern KY, USA

Song of the week: The Beautiful Sea, Hem



Here is a better version from Grooveshark.

Ramble:

Happy New Year! Yes, it has been a while since my last post. Time flies and I was determined to have a nice Christmas, not to mention I haven't felt much like writing and I have been spending quite a bit of time on Facebook--- truly addictive... If you are on Facebook and know my real identity-- look for me or drop me a note.... email is located on my profile.

2009 is now behind us- it has been a very sad year... on many fronts... the most cruel has been to watch someone I love dearly self destruct---- Prayers for him and his family and his extended family are requested---- the wake of destruction is felt by everyone in his path... His cruel and selfish behavior is beyond any kind of sickness of the mind... The cruelty he has exhibited is self serving and self indulgent and his lack of concern for his own children and family is beyond my comprehension.

Politically we are in the crapper... Have Americans had enough yet? Is it too late? Are grass roots efforts going to be enough? Or are we at a crossroads as a nation? So much to absorb--- so much to watch--- Do you see what has been happening internationally? The trajectory is frightening...

Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, "The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society. The central liberal truth is that politics can change a culture and save it from itself."

This morning I was flipping through Youtube... I watched many viral videos from 2009.... I hope you see the same thing I see when reviewed collectively... Let me know your thoughts... Here are a few:



It can be argued that this sort of exhibit in church is not appropriate... however, Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 reminds us that, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven; A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance..."



And of course this.... Les Miserables.... Susan Boyle... so fitting and so wonderful on so many levels...

I Dreamed a Dream

Have a great week everyone!