Monday, September 11, 2006

Kathy Bantis



Kathy died on September 11th,2001 at the age of 44.

Kathy was born in Greece and emigrated with her family to the United States at age 11 to Chicago, Ill.

At Central High School Kathy was a good student. She was involved with the foreign language publication called "Little Alien" and the school's drama club.

After graduating High School Kathy attended Plymouth State College in New Hampshire where she majored in accounting. It was at Plymouth State where Kathy met her former husband, Peter Maguire. The couple married in 1979 and lived in Maguire's hometown of Hampton, NH. There, Bantis worked for the law firm of Sanders and McDermott until the couple divorced in 1986.

After the divorce Kathy began working for the New York insurance brokerage firm Johnson and Higgins. This position led her back to Chicago. At the time of her death Kathy worked for Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. Marsh and McLennan, a global professional services company, had recently purchased Johnson and Higgens and made Kathy the vice president of finance. Kathy was in the process of being transferred from Chicago to New York.

Marsh and McLennan occuipied approximately 361,000 square feet of office space on the 94th through 100th floors and a portion of the 93rd floor in Tower One. On the day of the attacks, Kathy was at a training seminar on the 99th floor of Tower One. She died along with 294 other Marsh and McLennan employees.

Kathy left an indelible mark on the professional world. In her personal life she chose to remember her roots in Greece by providing funds to help inprove the lives of the people who lived there.

To those who knew her she was an exceptional person - both at work and in life (from Legacy.com and mmc.com):

"My mentor"
"well manner,sweet and smart"
"a crown jewel in the Bantis family"
"understanding ... and a great person to work for and with"
"warming my heart with your true friendship"
"a true pleasure to be with, as a co-worker and friend."
"always fun to be around. She lightened up every life she touched"
"the compassion and determination"
"My life is emptier without Kathy"
"blessed by the memories of your sassy voice"

Rest in peace Kathy. While there is no doubt that you are missed there is also no doubt that you will be remembered forever.

Sources:




8 comments:

Raggedy said...

Wonderful Tribute!
Thank you.
These are heartbreaking stories and difficult to read....
I am honored to be a part of this project.
Mine is posted also...

The 2996 link is down. I have a new link on my site to view the participants.

Bless you...

maggie said...

I didn't know about this project until today, but I am just amazed by how wonderful it is because it goes even a step further than putting faces to the cold numbers - we get to hear their stories, thanks to folks like you who take the time to research and share with us. Thank you for sharing Kathy Bantis with all of us. Very nice. Thank you.

Cup said...

What a lovely tribute, Al. Thank you. You brought Kathy to life for me, and left me just a little sadder on this sad day. My heart goes out to her family and friends.

I honored Dinah Webster on my blog.

Jeff and Charli Lee said...

Beautiful tribute.

There were 2996 innocent lives lost that horrible day. Thanks for helping to make Kathy more than just another number.

gordaboo said...

Thank you for putting a face and heart to what was once only a victim's name. Kathy seemed like a great lady.

We will never forget.

I remember Lisa Egan

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU FOR HONOURING MY ONLY BEAUTIFUL SISTER IN THE WORLD KATHY BANTIS.THERE ARE NO WORDS FOR OUR LOSS ONLY MEMORIES OF THE GREATEST LADY IN THE WORLD.THE MEMORIES OF KATHY IS WHAT KEEPS OUR FAMILY TOGETHER.THAT IS WHAT MY SISTER WOULD WANT FROM US AND KNOWING HER SHE WOULD SAY 'KEEP IT TOGETHER'GOD ONLY KNOWS HOW MUCH SHE IS MISSED BY THE FAMILY.

Christina-Marie Wright said...

Thank you for remembering Kathy with such a lovely tribute.

I remember, here:

http://www.thegonzomama.com/search/label/Project%202996

Kathy Hildebrand said...

I rember Kathy Bantis,she was the most caring wonderful young woman Iknew.She always made you feel good about yourself.I know sh is in Heaven now,Rest in Peace my friend.