Lauren Grandcolas

Lauren Grandcolas (August 31, 1963 – September 11, 2001) was one of the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, who made calls, providing information about the situation on the flight. She made the call to her husband, Jack, on a GTE airphone. He was still sleeping, and she left a message for him telling him of the "problem on the plane".

Biography

Lauren Grandcolas (née Catuzzi) was born on August 31, 1963, in Bloomington, Indiana.cite web |url=http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/107-285/text/senate.html |title=House Document No. 107-285 |date=September 9, 2002 |author=Senator Barbara Boxer] She attended the University of Texas at Austin where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi,cite web
url= http://www.lcgfoundation.org/about.htm
title=Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Foundation: About Us
publisher=Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Foundation
accessdate=2007-01-21] she met her husband Jack Grandcolas at the university. Prior to working for Good Housekeeping, she worked for a law firm and for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Grandcolas was a marketing expert for "Good Housekeeping". Grandcolas was also writing a book on self-help for women, covering finance and other topics. At the time of her death, a publisher was interested in her book. Three weeks prior to September 11, she left her job at Good Housekeeping in order to dedicate herself to the book.cite news
title=CNN LIVE, TRANSCRIPT: 051701CN.V85
publisher=CNN
date=May 17, 2005]

Her sisters have since worked together with the publisher, Chronicle Books, to get the book published. [cite news |title=Vaughn Lohec; Missing a Sister Killed on Flight 93 |publisher=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=September 11, 2006 |author=Ward, Paula Reed] The book, entitled "You Can Do It!: The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls", was published on April 10, 2005. [cite web |url=http://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Do-It-Handbook/dp/0811846350 |title=You Can Do It!: The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls (Paperback) |publisher=Amazon.com] The book provides a guide, modeled on the Girl Scouts' merit badge system, [cite news |title=Book by Sept. 11 victim is going on tour |publisher=Marin Independent Journal |date=April 25, 2005 |author=Upshaw, Jennifer] covering skills, such as negotiations, and life goals, such as horseback riding, scuba diving, and completing a triathlon. [cite news |title=Leisure reading |publisher=Deseret Morning News |date=June 3, 2005] [cite news |title=This way, her spirit lives on |publisher=Marin Independent Journal |date=February 5, 2005 |author=Upshaw, Jennifer] Book excerpts have appeared in Parade, Glamour, Shape, Good Housekeeping, and other magazines. [cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/blyth/blyth200504210759.asp |title=You Can Do It! Women doing something different in media |publisher=National Review |author=Blyth, Myrna |date=April 21, 2005] Lauren's sisters also appeared on "Good Morning America" on April 19, 2005, to discuss the book. [cite web |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA516197.html?display=current&industry=Book+News&verticalid=792 |title=Dream On |author=Kinsella, Bridget |publisher=Publishers Weekly |date=April 11, 2005] The proceeds from the sale of the book go to the "Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Foundation", which contributes funds to a college scholarship program,cite web |url=http://lhj.com/lhj/category.jhtml?categoryid=/templatedata/lhj/category/data/DareToDream_YouCanDoIt.xml |title=You Can Do It! |publisher=Ladies Home Journal |accessdate=2006-11-17] and charitable organizations across the United States.

Grandcolas was also involved with charitable organizations, including the United Way, March of Dimes, Project Open Hand, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Breast Cancer Awareness, and Glide Memorial. Grandcolas was also a certified emergency medical technician. [cite news |url=http://ad-server-d10.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,213303,00.html?sPage=fnc.national/_911 |title=Sept. 11, Flight 93 Forever Changed Husband's Life |publisher=FOX News |date=September 11, 2006]

eptember 11, 2001

Grandcolas had been attending her grandmother's funeral in Chatham, New Jersey, and was returning home to San Rafael, California.cite book |author=Longman, Jere |title=Among the Heroes |publisher=Harper Collins |year=2003] [" [http://www.post-gazette.com/headlines/20011028flt93grandcolasbiop8.asp Passenger: Lauren Grandcolas] ", "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette", October 28, 2001.] She arrived early at the airport on September 11, 2001, allowing her to board this flight which was earlier than her originally scheduled flight, United Airlines Flight 91. Lauren who was originally seated in seat #11D, called her husband, Jack, from towards the rear of the aircraft in row #23. [cite web |url=http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov/notablecases/moussaoui/exhibits/prosecution/flights/P200018.html
title=Exhibit #P200018, United States v. Zacarias Moussaoui
publisher=United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia] Lauren left a message for her husband, who was still sleeping, telling him of the "problem on the plane". [cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0112/28/ltm.16.html |title=Remembering The Victims: Lauren Grandcolas, Mornings with Paula Zahn |publisher=CNN |date=December 28, 2001] Her last phone message to her husband was played in the Discovery Channel docudrama, "The Flight That Fought Back".cite news
title=9-11 special tells story of the struggle on Flight 93; Unsettling documentary imagines the jetliner's final journey over Pennsylvania
publisher=The Detroit News
date=September 10, 2005
author=Toby, Mekeisha Madden] At the time of her death, she was three-months pregnant with their first child.

Grandcolas' father, Lawrence R. Catuzzi, served as co-chairman of the Flight 93 Memorial Task Force, from 2002 to 2005. [cite web
url=https://www.communicationsmgr.com/projects/Flight93_bulibmgr/docs/FLNI--finalwebnewsletter2.pdf
title=Planning for the Flight 93 National Memorial
date=June 2004
publisher=National Park Service] [cite web |url=http://www.house.gov/murtha/news/nw021213.htm |title=Co-Chairs Announced for Flight 93 National Memorial Task Force |author=John Murtha |date=December 13, 2002]

Published works

*"You Can Do It!: The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls", 2005 Chronicle Books; Bk&Sticker ISBN 0-8118-4635-0 ("Published posthumously through the efforts of her sisters, Vaughn Lohec and Dara Near")

References

External links

* [http://www.lcgfoundation.org/ Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Foundation]
* [http://sep11memories.org/wiki/Lauren_Grandcolas Lauren Grandcolas On-line Tribute]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2424067/ Lauren Grandcolas] on the Internet Movie Database