Families Remember 9/11 Alum Deaths

Everyday before Kenneth P. Ambrose heads to work, he visits the cemetery where his two sons are buried.

Next to his son who died in 1998 from pulmonary blood clots rests his other son, Paul W. Ambrose, a passenger on American Airlines Flight 77 that was hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001.

Along with nine other Harvard University alumni, Ambrose, a 2000 graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), lost his life in the terrorist attacks.

Five years later, Ambrose’s parents and loved ones of the other Harvard victims commemorated those killed. But they said just because it was the fifth anniversary, they wouldn’t remember those lives any differently.

“I don’t know whether you cope better over five years or not,” said Ambrose’s mother, Sharon N. Ambrose. “Maybe it gets worse.”

With every Sept. 11 since the attacks, the Ambroses attend memorial services at the Pentagon.

“They had 184 beams of light that they lit up above the Pentagon, one for each person who was killed at the Pentagon,” said Sharon.

“You looked up as you sat there, and these beams seemed to go on forever,” she said. “They disappeared into the night.”

Kenneth said that it had been helpful to be with other families of victims at the Sept. 11 ceremony, but some families with lost loved ones prefer more private settings.

Rekha D. Packer ’76 lost her husband, Michael B. Packer ’76, on Sept, 11 when he was delivering a keynote speech to an e-commerce conference on the 106th floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower.

“We don’t care for large public settings too much,” said Rekha. “I write a little service for ourselves with the kids.”

Rekha and her husband first met as undergraduates.

“My husband and I met at Harvard and fell in love at Harvard,” she said. “Harvard has been very much part of our lives.”

Ronald M. Soiefer ’75, the best man at their wedding, said, “I see the quiet courage that the family has shown. Every family, every person has a special story just like Michael has a special story.”

Ronald E. Corcillo ’88 also remembered a friend on Monday’s anniversary. Corcillo co-wrote the Hasty Pudding Theatrical Club’s 1989 show with Edward R. “Ted” Hennessy Jr. ’88, a passenger on the American Airlines flight 11 that crashed into the World Trade Center.

Hennessy had been flying to Los Angeles for a business trip and planned to surprise Corcillo with a visit.

Corcillo recalled his blue-eyed friend who was often found wearing baggy pants and Oxford shirts as a “blast to have around.”

“He threw the best parties ever,” Corcillo said with a chuckle about their undergraduate years. “He was always the best dancer and the best DJ also.”

Hennessy passed on his traits to his two children, especially his eight-year-old son, who Corcillo described as the “spitting image” of his father.

“When you think backwards about his kids, that is kind of life affirming to think that there is someone else out there who is like Ted, even though Ted is gone,” said Corcillo.

Executive Director of Alumni Affairs and Development John P. Reardon Jr. ’60 is planning on including a note in the monthly alumni electronic newsletter to recognize Harvard affiliates who died on Sept. 11, said Andrew K. Tiedemann, communications director of alumni affairs and development,

—Staff writer Madeline W. Lissner can be reached at mlissner@fas.harvard.