Friday, September 11, 2009

Remembering Katherine on 9-11

Project 2,996 is an annual effort by bloggers around the world to remember the 2,996 victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Many people, particularly here in New York, lost family, friends, colleagues, or acquaintances on that terrible day. It goes without saying that we will always remember them. But what about the victims that we didn't know personally? What about those who only enter our consciousness as a name read aloud during the annual memorial services? In order to help us remember those people properly, Project 2,996 assigns each blogger with the name of one person to research and write about. I was asked to remember Katherine S. Wolf. Unfortunately, there is little information available about her on the Internet. This is what I did find out:

Katherine Wolf was a classically trained pianist from the United Kingdom. Born in Wales, she developed a love for music early on. There is an audio recording of a 3 year old Katherine telling her parents that she would like to sing "All Things Bright and Beautiful". As an adult, Katerine became a piano accompanist for the Philbeach Society, which was an amateur operetta group that performed in London.
In 1988, Katherine moved to New York, where she met her husband, Charles Wolf, a member of the Village Light Opera Group that was presenting a joint production with Katherine's operetta group. Charles remembers telling a colleague "Who is that woman? I have got to get to know her."
Charles and Katherine made their home together in New York, where Katherine worked at Schroders, a British asset management company in midtown Manhattan. In August 2001, she started a new job at Marsh & McLennan, a financial services firm located on the 97th floor of 1 World Trade Center. She lost her life there just three weeks later.
On Marsh & Mclennan's memorial website, Katherine is remembered by her niece, her cousin, and her friends. Her cousin, Sian Jones, wrote, "We in England knew a different, gentler and simpler Katherine than did her American friends."
On Legacy. Com, Katherine's colleagues and friends wrote: "Your sweet smile and very quiet way made such an impression on me"... "Katherine was one of those people who's good nature I'll always remember"... "I will never forget the kind assistance Katherine so willing gave to me when I first joined Schroders, I would have been lost without her"... "It was a pleasure to meet the person who so completely captured my cousin Charlie's heart"... "She was a talented pianist and a very sweet person"... "I now feel that I have a great friend in Heaven".

4 comments:

Staying Afloat said...

Thank you so much for sharing this tribute.

Baila said...

I am so glad you also decided to do a tribute. It sounds like you found plenty of information on Katherine--she seemed like a talented, bright woman, obviously very much loved. Thank you.

Risa Tzohar said...

This memorial project is putting me in touch with my 'roots'. I grew up in New York but experienced 9/11 from the outside looking in. When I left New York the Twin Towers hadn't even been built.

Sian Jones said...

Katherine played the piano from a very young age, passing her Grade 8 piano exam with distinction at the age of 10. She won a place at London's prestigious Royal College of Music, where she completed her degree in Piano Performance. Katherine worked mainly as a rehearsal pianist for artists and choirs, notably for John Wallace, the trumpeter, who played at the wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. As my only girl cousin, Katherine was an enormous part of my family life, particularly during her years in London, at which time she and I travelled to the Far East together, visiting Sri Lanka, Thailand and Hong Kong. She was a frequent weekend visitor to our home in the country and we attended many concerts together in London. She was my bridesmaid at my wedding.