We Mourn the Loss of a Sister in WTC Attacks

[TechAPhi]

My heart cries for our Alpha Phi sister and her family. This account is simply heart-wrenching. Sadly there are too many of these stories. Please pray for the victims, their families and friends, and the brave people who are working day and night to rescue and, sadly, recover...

We Mourn the Loss of a Sister

More than 2,500 people attended a Sept. 18 memorial service at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Huntington, N.Y., for Kristy Irvine Ryan (Zeta Psi-Dayton), class of '93, a victim of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Kristy, a 30-year-old vice president of equity trading for Sandler O’Neill & Partners, was working in the investment banking firm’s 104th floor offices in the WTC’s South Tower. After the first airplane hit the North Tower, Kristy called her husband, Brendan Ryan, and her father, Stuart “Stu” Irvine.

She made a second call to her husband when she received word that her office was being evacuated. Brendan, who was watching the events on live television, says, “…She told me she loved me. We were still talking when I watched the second plane slam into her building … and the phone went dead.”

Her father was watching too, “When I saw the second tower get hit, my heart just stopped. Flames engulfed the building up to the 104th floor and I just couldn’t move.”

Tracy Irvine Janess (Zeta Psi-Dayton), Kristy’s sister and also an Alpha Phi, says, “Kristy was a gentle, serene spirit who went out of her way to put other people first.”

An example of this is an organization she and two friends founded called Secret Smiles, through which they raised money and anonymously donated it to help Harlem women set up their own households.

Tracy and husband Brian, who serves as a Kettering, Ohio, volunteer fireman, drove to Huntington from Dayton, Ohio, the day after the tragic events. Brian brought his fire gear and helped in the rescue efforts.

(From Alpha Phi International Website)

AOE,
Jen

[TechAPhi]

For more information on how to donate to the Alpha Phi Septemeber 11 Relief Fund, please see the following URL:
http://www.alphaphi.org/heartsgoout.html

For the online donation form, please visit:
http://www.alphaphi.org/donor.html

For a nice letter of support from a Canadian sister:
http://www.alphaphi.org/lettersofsupport.html

AOE,
Jen

[Phi-nomenal]

I am so sorry to hear this. What a heart-breaking story. Thanks for letting us all know, Jen. I'll be praying...

[Miami1839]

My prayers go out to your Sister and her family.

[TexasPhi]

What an awful thing! And, it's true, there are way too many of these stories out there. My prayers are most definitely with the families and friends who lost loved ones--and with the relief workers who have given so much to help.

AOE