Lauren Grandcolas

Lauren Grandcolas
Born Lauren Catuzzi
August 31, 1963
Bloomington, Indiana
Died September 11, 2001(2001-09-11) (aged 38)
Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania
Cause of death Plane crash
Citizenship American
Known for Passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93
Spouse(s) Jack Grandcolas

Lauren Grandcolas (August 31, 1963 – September 11, 2001) was one of the passengers on board United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, who made calls, providing information about the hijacking of the flight as part of the September 11 attacks. She made a call to her husband on an airphone, and left a message telling him of the "problem on the plane".

Biography

Grandcolas (née Catuzzi) was born on August 31, 1963, in Bloomington, Indiana.[1] She attended Stratford High School in Houston, Texas and later the University of Texas at Austin where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi.[2] She met her husband, Jack Grandcolas, at the university.[1]

She worked for a law firm and for PricewaterhouseCoopers[1] before becoming a marketing expert for Good Housekeeping. Grandcolas was also writing a book on self-help for women, covering finance and other topics. At the time of her death, a publisher was interested in her book.[3] Three weeks prior to the September 11 attacks, she left her job at Good Housekeeping in order to dedicate herself to the book.[4]

Her sisters worked together with the publisher, Chronicle Books, to get the book published after her death.[5] The book, entitled You Can Do It!: The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls, was published on April 10, 2005.[6] It provides a guide, modeled on the Girl Scouts' merit badge system,[7] covering skills, such as negotiations, and life goals, such as horseback riding, scuba diving, and completing a triathlon.[8][9] Book excerpts have appeared in Parade, Glamour, Shape, Good Housekeeping, and other magazines.[10] Grandcolas's sisters appeared on Good Morning America on April 19, 2005, to discuss the book.[11] The proceeds from sales of the book go to the Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Foundation, which contributes funds to a college scholarship program,[12] and charitable organizations across the United States.[4]

Grandcolas was also involved with charitable organizations, including the United Way, March of Dimes, Project Open Hand, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Breast Cancer Awareness, and Glide Memorial.[1] She was also a certified emergency medical technician.[13]

September 11 attacks

Grandcolas' name and her unborn child are memorialized on Panel S-68 of the South Pool of the National September 11 Memorial.

Grandcolas had been attending her grandmother's funeral in Carlstadt, New Jersey, and was returning home to San Rafael, California.[3][14] She arrived early at the airport on September 11, 2001, allowing her to board United Airlines Flight 93, which was earlier than her originally scheduled flight.[3]

Grandcolas, who was originally seated in seat 11D, called her husband from towards the rear of the aircraft in row 23.[15] She left a message for her husband, who was still sleeping, telling him of the "problem on the plane".[16] Her last phone message to her husband was played in the docudrama The Flight That Fought Back.[17] At the time of her death, at the age of 38, she was three months pregnant with their first child.[17]

Grandcolas' father, Lawrence R. Catuzzi, served as co-chairman of the Flight 93 National Memorial task force, from 2002 to 2005.[18][19]

At the National 9/11 Memorial, Grandcolas is memorialized at the South Pool, on Panel S-68, along with other passengers on Flight 93.[20]

Published works

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Senator Barbara Boxer (September 9, 2002). "House Document No. 107-285".
  2. ↑ "Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Foundation: About Us". Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Foundation. Retrieved 2007-01-21.
  3. 1 2 3 Longman, Jere (2003). Among the Heroes. Harper Collins.
  4. 1 2 "CNN LIVE, TRANSCRIPT: 051701CN.V85". CNN. May 17, 2005.
  5. ↑ Ward, Paula Reed (September 11, 2006). "Vaughn Lohec; Missing a Sister Killed on Flight 93". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  6. ↑ "You Can Do It!: The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls (Paperback)". Amazon.com.
  7. ↑ Upshaw, Jennifer (April 25, 2005). "Book by Sept. 11 victim is going on tour". Marin Independent Journal.
  8. ↑ "Leisure reading". Deseret Morning News. June 3, 2005.
  9. ↑ Upshaw, Jennifer (February 5, 2005). "This way, her spirit lives on". Marin Independent Journal.
  10. ↑ Blyth, Myrna (April 21, 2005). "You Can Do It! Women doing something different in media". National Review.
  11. ↑ Kinsella, Bridget (April 11, 2005). "Dream On". Publishers Weekly.
  12. ↑ "You Can Do It!". Ladies Home Journal. Archived from the original on October 16, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
  13. ↑ "Sept. 11, Flight 93 Forever Changed Husband's Life". FOX News. September 11, 2006.
  14. ↑ "Passenger: Lauren Grandcolas", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 28, 2001.
  15. ↑ "Exhibit #P200018, United States v. Zacarias Moussaoui". United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia.
  16. ↑ "Remembering The Victims: Lauren Grandcolas, Mornings with Paula Zahn". CNN. December 28, 2001.
  17. 1 2 Toby, Mekeisha Madden (September 10, 2005). "9-11 special tells story of the struggle on Flight 93; Unsettling documentary imagines the jetliner's final journey over Pennsylvania". The Detroit News.
  18. ↑ "Planning for the Flight 93 National Memorial" (PDF). National Park Service. June 2004.
  19. ↑ John Murtha (December 13, 2002). "Co-Chairs Announced for Flight 93 National Memorial Task Force".
  20. ↑ South Pool: Panel S-68: Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas and her unborn child. Memorial Guide: National 9/11 Memorial. Retrieved October 28, 2011.

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