Pamela J Boyce

Pamela J Boyce

1958 - 11th September 2001

Pamela was Assistant Vice-President of Accounting for Carr Futures working on the 92nd Floor of 1 World Trade Center, where she was working when the plane struck.
Known for her direct approach, sometimes thought of as harsh, which came from a sense of practicality. She was a hard worker who had recently graduated with a degree in accounting, for which she studied after work at a local community college.
Outside of work she was known for her love of disco dancing, competing competitively, though she also loved to relax.
Leaving behind her partner Catherine Anello, with whom she shared a home in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, she also left behind a family she loved, evidenced by her serving as Lamaze coach for her sister Desiree, at the birth of her niece Kristina.
Catherine has said that Pamela wasn't afraid to die, saying that she knew she was going to a beautiful place. If only we all had that certainty.

Brandhorst-Gamboa Family

Daniel Brandhorst / Ronald Gamboa / David Gamboa-Brandhorst

On this horrid anniversary the story of the Brandhorst-Gamboa family is both a heart-rending one. Daniel and Ronald met about 13 years prior to 9/11 while living on the US east coast. When Daniel got transferred to a Pricewaterhouse/Cooper office in Los Angeles, the couple moved to facilitate this and with Ronald eventually settling as a manager of The Gap store in Santa Monica. The couple adopted a son, David, through a surrogate mother, looking after her during the pregnancy, birth and afterwards. Initially needing some help as all new parents so, they quickly settled in to become natural parents, Daniel becoming "Papa" and Ronald "Daddy" to the beautiful, bright, energetic and very caring young boy. Daniel was variously described as happy, inspirational, a good friend and generous, but was also the "serious one" in the relationship. Ronald was the joker who could apparently "make a rainy day look happy." Both parents have inspired their co-workers to greater things and are remembered fondly by many of them, some of whom have had their lives changed dramatically by the advice given by the two men. The one thing that can be taken from this terrible day is that in the end the loving family were together.
I would have been honoured to meet the trio who, even though they are gone, stand as examples to show the bigots still out there that a family is what individuals make it and does not need to be formulaic or standardised. Some of the best families are those which are chosen, not moulded. The Brandhorst-Gamboas are fine examples of all that a family can and should be and should be used as role models for gay marriage, gay adoption, happiness and good parenting.

To read an incredibly touching tribute to David Gamboa-Brandhorst please visit here.

Please also visit 2996 Project to read about all the other victims of this terrible day. Every one has a story.

Michele Ann Nelson

Michele Ann Nelson

7th December 1973 – 11th September 2001

Michele Ann Nelson was a benefits specialist, working in the Human Resources department of Cantor Fitzgerald in the World Trade Center. She had been there since 2000.
Michele formerly worked at J & W Seligman and County Seat Stores and lived in Valley Stream, New York.

She left behind a younger sister – Monique, and her mother – Mrs Winsome Nelson, along with a vast network of family and friends.

Some words used frequently to describe Michele were:

Beautiful, intelligent, hilarious, thoughtful, caring, punctual, giving, forgiving, positive, & spiritual.

Once again, for me, it is difficult writing an honest tribute to someone who I never got the chance to meet.

The overwhelming impression I get from the tributes that I have seen and the thoughts that have been written, is that of an incredibly caring person who always thought of others. Whether it was giving good advice to someone considering quitting college, or kind words on the death of a co-worker’s relative, she made a difference just by being her own caring self. She is an example that we should all follow.
Michele seemed to make an impact on the lives of everyone that she met. Even brief acquaintances were influenced by her shining example of how to live life. Even now, 8 years on, her example is being spread via her family and friends, and via tributes on the internet that give a multitude of examples of the kindness, generosity and her incredibly caring nature.
Excelling in her studies at school, graduating from Pennsylvania State University, then Baruch College of the City, Michele was constantly trying to improve her skills, shown also by her attendance of New York Restaurant School, from which she posthumously graduated in December ‘01.

I think that we can all learn from the example that Michele set during her brief life. She had a mantra that she would repeat three times a day:

"This is the day the Lord had made, I will rejoice and be glad in it."

Please take time to read tributes left to Michele and her family at Legacy.com and at the memorial site set up by Cantor Fitzgerald. And don't forget all the other victims of that terrible day, all of whom will be paid tribute to via Project 2996.

Michael John Cahill

Michael John Cahill

I originally honoured Michael John Cahill in 2006 for the Project: 2996 tribute and have been granted the honour once again. As before, I hope this tribute honours him as much he deserves. Grief is such a personal thing it affects us all in different ways. Grief can affect you for people you do not know as well as those you do. I have experienced a fair amount of loss in my life, but you can never truly equate your loss with that of someone else. It is also difficult to pay tribute to someone you didn’t know and never met. All you can do is research and hope you get all the facts straight.
Michael John Cahill was in Tower 1 of the World Trade Centre, based on the 99th floor. This floor was in the upper area of where the first plane hit the tower.
I can’t even begin to imagine what Colleen, his wife, must have been thinking when she first heard the news and saw the pictures.
Michael was 37 years old and, from what I can tell, a REAL family man. He had a wife he loved and two young kids who he loved spending time with and wanted to be a good role model for. To this end he rejoined his high school cross country running team as its captain, as he believed that sports were important in their development.
Michael worked hard, often out of his house for more than 12 hours and regularly taking work home with him, but his family knew that it was all for them. Colleen, his wife said, "We knew we came first. He would always make a point to tell me, 'I know it's hard for you being home with the kids,' so he would always make time to be with them so I could take a break."
Even his sister, Denise Troise, was amazed at her brother’s devotion to his family, saying “I can’t even imagine a more dedicated father and husband.”
He was known for his weekend barbecues which usually brought together his close-knit family, neighbours and friends.

Posthumously, Michael has been awarded a promotion to Managing Director by his firm, Marsh & McLennan. He has also been awarded the Dean Award from St John’s University Law School, from which he graduated in 1991.
But, possibly the most telling award made to this loving family man is the bench and plaque placed in his East Williston village green by his friends and neighbours, and the fact that around 1000 friends attended the memorial mass at St Aidan’s Roman Catholic Church in Williston Park.
Jim & Evelyn be proud of your son, you must have done good raising him.
Colleen be proud of your husband, you picked a good one. One who loved you enough to spend time away from you to provide the things you needed and deserved.
Connor & Fiona, be proud of your daddy. He was a good man. Ask your family about him. Find out all that you can and fix him in your mind, that way, he will always be with you.

You will never forget.
We will never forget.
Michael John Cahill

Please don't forget to check out Project 2996 for all the other tributes that have been made today to honour those who died on that awful day.

Waleska Martinez-Rivera

Waleska Martinez-Rivera

Waleska Martinez-Rivera was born in Puerto Rico. She studied computer science and business at the University of Puerto Rico where she graduated first in her class in 1986 before moving on to teaching computer science at two universities. In 1987 she moved to New York and was hired the following year by the US Census Bureau’s regional office, where she was subsequently promoted to supervisory computer specialist recruiting and training other computer specialists. Highly praised by her boss there, Waleska was in 1997 awarded a bronze medal by the Census Bureau for her dedication.

Her work demeanour has been described as friendly but reserved. Outside of work she, without doubt, knew how to enjoy herself, enjoying movies, music, sport, the theatre and entertaining.

She left behind her “longtime partner” Angela Lopez, whose Madonna “Drowned World” baseball cap she had borrowed on the morning she boarded Flight 93, that fateful morning on her way to a conference in San Francisco.

Tuesday Morning

Riot Dream

I don't remember much about it, but I had a dream last night. I was living at home with my mum, though it was in a flat that I've never actually seen before. I returned home after a riot (a la the London riots of last month) to find that the flat had been broken into and ransacked, with everything of value having been stolen and my mum sitting on the floor in the middle of the rubble.
I woke up to a sense of foreboding, thinking for a second that my home had been ransacked too. Luckily it hadn't.

I got up, showered and got myself ready to watch the first England match in this year's Rugby World Cup. Unfortunately it wasn't an entertaining one, for the most-part. I had caught the previous match (France v Japan) and that proved to be much more entertaining.