
Susan A. MacKay, Wife, Mother, Friend
This is Susan A. MacKay. On September 11, 2001, she was on American Airlines Flight 11, the plane which was flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center by Islamic terrorists.
This was the only photo of Susan that I could find online, and it doesn’t seem nearly large enough to do justice to the memory of a woman who remains, based on the tributes available, dearly missed and much beloved.
Susan was a wife and a mother of two. She was 44 years old. She lived in Westford, Massachusetts with her husband Douglas and two children, Matthew and Lauren.
Susan had worked in the retail industry all her professional life and risen to the position of Assistant Vice President of Merchandise Planning and Allocation for TJX Co. According to a friend, even more than her professional accomplishments, Susan was devoted to her children and loved being a mother.
Her husband Douglas said that Susan had been looking forward to her trip to Los Angeles on September 11 “all Summer.” In the wake of her murder, grieving co-workers placed roses and chrysanthemums in Susan’s parking space at TJX.
There isn’t a whole lot of other information available about Susan on the Internet. She wasn’t famous and appears to have led a life without particular notoriety. However, as Dennis Prager has aptly pointed out, the famous are rarely significant, and the significant are rarely famous. By all accounts, Susan MacKay, whilst not famous, appears to have led a life of noteworthy significance.
Based on the recollections of her offered up by her husband, numerous cousins, friends, co-workers and other relations, Susan was much loved and admired. In their various tributes, those who knew her invariably mention her lively spirit. Susan was a lot of fun, they say. I’ve also gleaned that she had a flair for fashion and style and took to sharing this with those around her, offering advice and helping people look their best. A prolific seamstress, according to Douglas, Susan had transformed her own wedding dress into a christening gown for her children, sewn pillows, comforters, and even her younger sister’s wedding dress the year before her murder.
By every account, Susan was one of those people who made the world a better place. The pain of her loss is still deeply felt, and memorial masses have continued for years. In 2007, a memorial mass was celebrated on what would have been her fiftieth birthday.
One of Susan’s cousins said that Susan taught her, amongst other things, how to be a friend. The world needs more people like Susan A. MacKay.
May she Rest In Peace.
***
You can read more about Susan here, here, and here. These were the sites which provided the information I’ve related. If you’d like to read about some of the other victims of the September 11th murders, please visit Project 2,996.
Posted by Kensington
Posted by Kensington
Posted by Kensington 


