Poignant memories shared with class

EVONNE COUTROS

SADDLE RIVER - Not long after Jeremy Glick perished in the Sept. 11 hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93, his widow received a letter from a former classmate.

"In eighth grade this man was not very popular, as opposed to my husband, who had many friends," Lyzbeth Glick told 29 graduates at Saddle River Day School, the couple's alma mater, on Wednesday.

"When it came time for this young man's bar mitzvah, he invited the entire eighth-grade class, but only Jeremy showed up. He wrote to me that this small act of kindness and Jeremy's friendship meant everything to him," she said.

Glick's address Wednesday night came nine months and a day after her husband died a hero. Some 500 faculty, graduates, and their parents listened intently, breaking their silence only at the end with a standing ovation.

"It took a lot of courage for her to come back and visit the halls, the gym, the classrooms," Headmaster Tim J. Saburn said after the speech. "It's an emotional time for her."

Lyzbeth Makely, who lived in Upper Saddle River, and Oradell native Jeremy Glick met on the first day of biology class. A romance bloomed, and the couple was crowned king and queen of their prom.

"Jeremy chased Lyz for quite a while, trying to woo her," recalled Don Treue, their biology teacher and now the school's assistant headmaster.

In her speech, Glick recalled studying 17th century romantic poetry with Jeremy, and learning the concept of carpe diem.

"After class Jeremy and I had a long discussion about this idea of seizing the day," she said. "I remember we were both excited and motivated by what we had learned."

They graduated in 1988. College followed, and they wed in 1996. The couple settled in West Milford, and three months before Jeremy died, they welcomed a daughter, Emerson.

On Sept. 11, Jeremy was a passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93 when hijackers commandeered the plane. Glick called his wife from a cellular phone to say that he and other passengers were hoping to overpower the hijackers. He told her he loved her, and asked her to take care of their daughter. Soon after, the plane went down in a field in Pennsylvania.

Glick and others on board were hailed as heroes. Authorities believe the hijackers had planned to slam the plane into the White House or the Capitol, and that only the passengers' interference prevented a wider disaster.

Since that day, Lyzbeth Glick told the graduates, two former classmates from Saddle River Day School have become a big part of her support system.

"I came to appreciate the fact that our school is also very much a part of a larger community, one which we will be forever tied to," she said. She cited a student walkathon, organized in November, to raise money for the Jeremy Glick Fund, and said she "was deeply touched by the acts of support I received from members of the school."

The fund helped foster the creation of the Jeremy L. Glick Freedom Award for integrity, academic and athletic success, and commitment to democratic principles. Its first recipient was Jacob Kossowsky of Upper Saddle River, a soccer player and volunteer firefighter who will attend St. Lawrence University.

"I learned important life lessons in high school such as responsibility and self-discipline," Glick said Wednesday night. "When you enter college, suddenly it may feel that you are now a small fish in a big sea. What you will come to realize, though, is just how much self-confidence your high school education gave you."

At some time, Glick told the graduates, they will face adversity, loss, illness, or hardships.

"What I have learned is that the way that life was lived prior to such an event does make a difference in how one continues with life and how one heals in the aftermath," she said. "It is always a tragedy when someone dies young before their life was complete, as my husband, Jeremy, did. However, know that even though his life was short in years, that was the only thing it was short in."

Jeremy would have offered his own advice, she told the youngsters.

"He would urge you to follow your dreams, live your lives to the fullest, and leave nothing unsaid or undone in your relationships with those that you love."

The graduates said the speech stunned and inspired them.

"What she said in her speech is what the school is about," said Kossowsky.

Kimberly Ann Camacho, the valedictorian, said she was pleased to hear "reflection from someone who has been in our shoes and has attended our school."

"I knew nothing of Mrs. Glick," Camacho added, "but after hearing her stories about Jeremy, I have a world of respect for her."

Evonne Coutros' e-mail address is coutros@northjersey.com