This is partly a repost of my attempt to remember one of those who died on September 11th. I have chosen to repost it each September 11th.
I intentionally did not name her 13 year old son in the original memorial, because I am particularly cautious about children and the internet. I recently found this article showing a photo of Imran with his aunt right after 9/11.
He's 22 years old now, and I wanted to see if I could find out how he's doing. I did find this 2001 article:
As reported in The News last week, Norma Khan, manager of member services for the Plumb-ing-Heating-Cooling Contractors — National Association (PHCC), was on board American Airlines Flight 77, which was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon on September 11.
She left behind a 13-year-old son, Imran. At its annual conference, PHCC decided to establish a scholarship fund for Imran Khan.
We have no doubt of our industry’s continuing generosity.
# To contribute to the Imran Khan Fund, send checks to the PHCC Educational Foundation, 180 S. Washington St., Falls Church, VA 22046. Please make checks out to the PHCC Educational Foundation Scholar-ship Fund, with a notation that the donation is for the Imran Khan Fund.
So I'm hoping that means this young man has either graduated from college or is very close to it by now. His mom has made the whole 9-11 tragedy very close to home for me, and I wish him the very best life.
Norma Khan was on American Airlines, flight 77, on her way home to Reston, Virginia, on September 11, 2001, when that plane was hijacked and aimed at the Pentagon. She was 45 years old. She had worked as an organizer for fundraiser programs for non-profit organizations, and had been heavily involved in the Reston Multicultural Festival, held each September in Reston. She was a single parent with a 13 year old son, Imran.
Several people have left memorial comments on various 9/11 sites, praising Norma as a warm, loving woman who cared about people. She was a good mother to her son. There is no way that I can properly pay tribute to this lady that I did not know, but the many lives she touched during her lifetime are a living tribute to her that will last forever.
If you'd like to read more tributes written by bloggers to honor the 2,996 people who died tragically on 9/11, you'll find the whole list here. It's a shame, but not all the links are any good any more, including mine, but I did find the link to Norma's page after a bit of Googling. A flower is added at the bottom of the page each time someone visits it, so please take the time to stop by. Maybe someday Imran will see that people have not forgotten her.
10 comments:
Thanks Rosemary, I met Norma when we were both at Software AG in Reston. For a while the Federal and International teams were put together and she became our marketing coordinator.
She was a lovely lady always with a smile and something encouraging to say every day.
Rick G.
Thank you for posting, Rick. It's good to know that other people think about her and try to find anything about her on the internet on this day. I've tried to track Imran down, but no luck so far.
It is important to put faces and lives to this very sad occasion. We sometimes forget in the numbers of dead there are human lives that were shattered.
It has meant so much to me personally to put the face of one person on this awful day.
Thanks for stopping by, Jan. I really enjoyed reading your uplifting 9/11 story.
Another sickening loss. Three thousand people, multiplied times spouses, children, parents, siblings, friends.
I am so glad to have read about Norma. It is so important to put faces and reality to the numbers so their lives were not in vain.
Thank you for this. God help us and bless us all.
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment, Maria. It is a very sobering act for me each year to re-post this tribute to her.
I also knew Norma at Software AG. She was in VA and I was in Atlanta, but I did meet her once when in Reston for training. 9/11 was such a shock in itself, I had no idea I would actually know anyone who had died. Norma was such a sweet lady, and I think about her a lot, especially this time of year.
Ann B.
Thank you for adding your memory, Ann. May we never forget them all.
I worked with Norma at PHCC and before that, at Association Management Group. Norman was the nicest person you could ever hope to meet. Anyone who worked with Norma knew that she was devoted to Imran. As a single mom, family was her top priority. I was searching today to see if I could find out how Imran is doing.
I would love to know how he is doing. I pray that this day is just a little easier for him, knowing that complete strangers are specifically remembering his mother.
We all wish the best for him.
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