“When Ted died it was just unbelievable that we’d have another child die on us,” Gerry says. “I got very run down, and I had a heart attack very shortly after that. It just took the life out of us.”

For many, especially those who were younger at the time and lost a parent in the attacks, Sept. 11, 2001 and the days and weeks that followed were a time of deep confusion.

In the household of Elizabeth R. Moroney ’12, the days after the attack were characterized by waiting. Waiting to hear something—anything—concrete about her father.

“No one knew if my dad was somewhere in a triage. There were the missing person signs everywhere,” Elizabeth says.

Elizabeth’s father, Dennis G. Moroney, died in the North Tower.

Elizabeth was 11 on Sept. 11, 2011. She went back to school within the week, diligently continuing to do her homework as a way to keep her mind occupied. The family held a memorial service for Dennis sometime in October, at which Elizabeth played her flute.

“I don’t know at what point we just stopped waiting around,” she says.

Afterwards, Elizabeth began participating in a bereavement program in her community, as well as in groups at Tuesday’s Children, a non-profit organization that supports individuals impacted by the events of 9/11.

Most importantly, her family came together after the tragedy.

“My brother, my mom, and I got a lot closer afterwards. We sort of coped with it by focusing on each other and on everyone else in our family,” Elizabeth says.

THE LIVES OF THE VICTIMS

As the healing process continues, the Kelleher, Hennessy, Moroney and Demas families say that they are trying to keep in mind the positive milestones that have taken place since Sept. 11—the marriages and graduations—instead of dwelling on the horror of the attacks.

“I’m always very focused on keeping my spirits uplifted, as my husband would have wanted me to do, and not be mired in the sadness of it,” says Violetta, whose husband attended the School of Continuing Education in 1979.

A critical aspect of remaining optimistic is keeping the spirit of their family members alive.

“They don’t ever shy away from talking about him,” Sharon says of her family’s treatment of Ted’s death.