Sunday is the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The tragedies in New York City, Washington D.C. and Somerset County, Pa., claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people and permanently changed the lives of many countless thousands more.
While we pause to honor all the victims of those attacks this Sunday morning, The PennLive/Patriot-News Editorial Board pays specific tribute to the Pennsylvania residents (defined as those who lived in the state at the time) who died on that day.
These are their names, what they did for a living, who they were and where they died. They will not be forgotten.
Michael Andrew Bane, 33, Yardley, Pa., World Trade Center
Bane worked as the assistant vice president for Marsh & McLennan's casualty claims unit in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
Jasper Baxter, 45, Philadelphia, Pa., World Trade Center
Baxter was a career consultant with Lee Hecht Harrison in South Tower of the World Trade Center. A New York Times profile said Baxter delivered meals to a food bank on Saturdays.
James Patrick Berger, 44, Lower Makefield, Pa., World Trade Center
Berger was a senior vice president of Aon Corp in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. A New York Times obituary said Berger was a "gentle giant" that loved the raspy rock 'n' roll of the Bruce Springsteen.
Harry Blanding Jr., 38, Blakeslee, Pa., World Trade Center
Blanding was a claims analyst with Aon Corp.
Kevin L. Bowser, 45, Philadelphia, Pa., World Trade Center
Bowser was a computer trainer with Marsh & McLennan in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He was a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan and attended Kutztown University, according to his New York Times obituary.
Joseph Calandrillo, 49, Hawley, Pa., World Trade Center
Calandrillo was an employee of Risk Solutions International. He was married at the time of his death.
Peter A. Chirchirillo, 47, Langhorne, Pa., World Trade Center
Chirchirillo was a project manager for Marsh & McLennan in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He left a wife and two sons.
Christopher Robert Clarke, 34, Philadelphia, Pa., World Trade Center
Clarke served as a trader for Sandler O'Neill & Partners in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Clarke was described as having a "magnetic personality" in his New York Times obituary.
Jeffrey Coale, 31, Souderton, Pa., World Trade Center
Coale was an assistant wine master with Windows on the World. He worked for a number of years as a government bond trader and attended night classes at the French Culinary Institute. He worked at Windows of the World to learn more about wine.
Joseph W. Flounders, 46, East Stroudsburg, Pa., World Trade Center
Flounders was a money market broker with Euro Brokers Inc. in the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
Donald G. Havlish Jr., 53, Yardley, Pa., World Trade Center
Havlish was a senior vice president of Aon Corp in the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
Michael R. Horrocks, 38, Glen Mills, Pa., United 175
Horrocks was the copilot of United Flight 175 when hijackers crashed it into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. He was a retired Marine and a quarterback at West Chester University. Horrocks left behind a wife and two children.
Donald W. Jones, 43, Fairless Hills, Pa., World Trade Center
Jones was a bond broker with Cantor Fitzgerald in North Tower of the World Trade Center. The Indiana University of Pennsylvania graduate left behind a wife and two children.
Lawrence Donald Kim, 31, Blue Bell, Pa., World Trade Center
Kim had just started a job with Marsh & McLennan in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. A New York Times obituary said he had an "appetite for life."
George Lopez, 40, Stroudsburg, Pa., World Trade Center
Lopez worked for Fiduciary Trust International in the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
Joseph Lostrangio, 48, Langhorne, Pa., World Trade Center
Lostrangio began working with Devonshire Group a couple weeks before the terrorist attacks. He was born and raised on Long Island and got his law degree from the New York Law School.
Walter Arthur McNeil, 53, East Stroudsburg, Pa., World Trade Center
McNeil was a police officer with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Mary Melendez, 44, Stroudsburg, Pa., World Trade Center
Melendez was a legal secretary with Fiduciary Trust International in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. She left behind a husband and four children.
Alan H. Merdinger, 47, Allentown, Pa., World Trade Center
Merdinger was an accountant for Cantor Fitzgerald in North Tower of the World Trade Center.
Louis J. Nacke, 42, New Hope, Pa., United 93
Nacke oversaw operations at a K-B Toys warehouse in Clinton, N.J. He was on United Airlines Flight 93, headed for San Francisco, on a last-minute business trip.
Timothy F. O'Sullivan, 68, Albrightsville, Pa., World Trade Center
O'Sullivan was a financial consultant with Cultural Institution of Retirement Systems in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. A New York Times obituary said he loved military history, jokes and his wife of 43 years, Geraldine.
Lt. Jonas Martin Panik, 26, Mingoville, Pa., Pentagon
Panik was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy working at the Pentagon.
Laura Marie Ragonese-Snik, 41, Bangor, Pa., World Trade Center
Ragonese-Snik served as a special risk insurance specialist with Aon Corp in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. A New York Times obituary said she loved music and performing.
Efrain Franco Romero Sr., 57, Hazleton, Pa., World Trade Center
Romero was a painter with Fine Painting & Decorating.
Victor J. Saracini, 51, Lower Makefield Township, Pa., United 175
Saracini was captain of United Flight 175, which was hijacked and crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. A Philadelphia Inquirer obituary said the father of two was a former Marine pilot.
Larry John Senko, 34, Yardley, Pa., World Trade Center
Senko was the director of recruiting for Alliance Consulting in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He left behind a wife and young daughter.
Johanna Sigmund, 25, Syndmoor, Pa., World Trade Center
Sigmund was a investor liaison with Fred Alger Management in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. A New York Time profile said Sigmund "ran in the New York Marathon, blared Janet Jackson and U2 at all-night parties, bought meals for a homeless couple who lived near her and regularly cooked breakfast for her three roommates."
George Eric Smith, 38, West Chester, Pa., World Trade Center
Smith was a senior business analyst for SunGard Asset Management Systems/Global Plus in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. A New York Times obituary said Smith would stay in a corporate apartment during the week, before driving three hours home to spend time with his grandmother, who raised him.
William R. Steiner, 56, New Hope, Pa., World Trade Center
Steiner was a managing director of information technology with Marsh & McLennan in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He left behind a wife and three children.
Sandra Wright, 57, Langhorne, Pa., World Trade Center
Wright was an employee with Aon Corp in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Wright, the oldest among nine children, grew up in Bucks County.