First Church of Christ Senior Pastor Reverend Doug Bixby led the crowd in a prayer at the beginning of the ceremony.
Reminder Publishing photos by Peter Tuohy
LONGMEADOW — Longmeadow residents, families and friends had the opportunity to attend multiple memorials on the morning of Sept. 11 to remember the victims of 9/11 on the 25th anniversary — one of which a Longmeadow native and three others with ties to the town.
Crowds gathered at the Longmeadow Fire Department for a remembrance ceremony and at First Church of Christ for an annual memorial and bench dedication to Jean D. Rogér, who graduated from Longmeadow High School in 1995 and died at 24 years old.
Rogér was a golfer and swimmer at LHS and received dedication through a new granite bench in First Church’s memorial garden. She was a stand-by flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11.
Remembered during the ceremonies as well were Douglas Gardner, husband of Longmeadow native Jennifer Gardner, Amy Toyen, daughter of native Dorine Toyen and granddaughter of residents Ernest and Salena Blake, and Daniel Trant, husband of resident Kathy Trant and father of residents Jessica, Daniel and Alex Trant.
Daniel Trant grew up in Westfield and went on to be drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1984. He worked as a bond trader with Cantor Fitzgerald in the World Trade Center’s North Tower.
Toyen grew up in Avon, Connecticut, and graduated from Bentley University in 1999. She was attending a technology conference on the 106th floor of the North Tower.
Gardner grew up in New York and also worked at Cantor Fitzgerald in floors 101-105 of the North Tower.
Deputy Fire Chief Andrew Markt kicked off the Fire Department’s ceremony and said Longmeadow stands together in solemn remembrance of “the heroes we lost, the families who carry their memory and the extraordinary, brave men and women who continue to protect our communities every single day.”
“As we begin this morning ceremony, we carry forward the unity, grace and neighborly strength that define our town and our nation,” Markt said. “Thank you for standing with us today.”
St. Andrews Episcopal Church’s Reverend Eddie Lopez led the crowd in a prayer and said to remember the cherished lives of the victims and of those connected to the Longmeadow community.
“Remember, with profound gratitude, the 343 firefighters and paramedics and the 71 law enforcement officers who selflessly lost their lives as they ran toward danger to save others,” Lopez said. “We pledge to keep their memory always alive. Remember all the families and friends who carry the deep weight of grief from that day, surround them with your enduring comfort and peace. We remember all the survivors and witnesses who carry the invisible, heavy wounds of that day … May their bravery inspire us to live that great courage and care for our neighbors.”
Fire Chief John Rigney read a sentiment that Jessica Trant wrote about her father, stating that he was “funny, competitive, fiercely protective of his family and happiest when the people he loved were around him.”
“He was our rock, the steady hand we counted on, and there was a comfort in being his daughter that I didn’t know I could lose,” Jessica Trant wrote. “I wish people could know him through a conversation, a laugh, a game of basketball, because a name read aloud could never hold all of the values that he was.”
State Rep. Brian Ashe thanked the firefighters and police officers for keeping the community safe day in and day out, while also thanking the town officials for attending the ceremony.
“This means a lot to come together as a community on our 25th anniversary,” Ashe said. “Anybody born in the early 90s or prior remembers vividly where they were, who they were with, and they can recall it moment by moment. It rocked our nation, but it brought us together, reminded us why we’re American. We stick together, and as time goes on again, you forget that. We forget that if we’re divided, we’re weaker. If we are together, we are stronger.”
Select Board Chair Dan Zwirko read a town proclamation before Lubavitcher Yeshiva Academy’s Rabbi Noach Kosofsky closed out the ceremony.
First Church Senior Pastor Reverend Doug Bixby began Rogér’s memorial later in the morning, attended by her parents, Tom and Punky Rogér. He thanked the crowd for taking the time to be there for the dedication and to remember the victims.
“We rejoice in the place she held in the Longmeadow community and as a member of First Church,” Bixby said. “We give thanks for this place of remembrance, where Jean is remembered and will always be remembered. May the love she shared with her parents and brother continue to be magnified in their lives today. The pain of such a loss never fully goes away. It gets softer around the edges, but it is always felt and will always shape their lives.”
Bixby also spoke about Gardner, Toyen and Daniel Trant, and said the day brought many to their knees in prayer and left others with pain they did not know what to do with.
Former First Church Pastor Gary DeLong recalled memories of Rogér and the relationship between their families.
He said his daughter, Marcy, babysat Rogér and her brother Jim’s growing up and shared moments of them playing hide-and-seek. He said Jean’s hiding spots were only betrayed by her occasional giggling.
Bixby closed the dedication with the blessing of the bench and memorial garden.
“May this bench serve as a memorial related to the specific loss of Jean Rogér, for her family, our community and this church,” Bixby said. “May this bench add to the beauty of this memorial garden and remind us of how precious the gift of life is and how significant, unexpected and tragic losses like these are. May this memorial garden continue to be a place for people to visit loved ones who have been laid to rest here alongside Jean, and to quietly grieve those who they have lost.”
He said the garden isn’t only a place for solemn assembly and prayer, but a place where children grow up, where flowers can grow and a place to remember Rogér’s smile, commitment to life, her family and her adventurous spirit.
Rogér’s memorial bench can be visited at First Church’s memorial garden, in between the church and the Longmeadow Montessori School.
Top row, from left: Longmeadow first responders lined up at the Longmeadow Fire Department to begin the Sept. 11, 2001 remembrance ceremony. Fire Chief John Rigney spoke in dedication of the nearly 3,000 lives lost 25 years ago. State Rep. Brian Ashe thanked members of the town for making time for the ceremony. Bottom row,from left: Select Board Chair Dan Zwirko read a proclamation from the town for the 25th anniversary. Jean D. Rogér’s new granite memorial bench shines where an old wooden bench stood for 25 years. Former First Church Pastor Gary DeLong shared memories of Jean.
Reminder Publishing photos by Peter Tuohy
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