Lauren Grandcolas
Encyclopedia
Lauren Grandcolas was one of the passengers on board United Airlines Flight 93
on September 11, 2001, who made calls, providing information about the hijacking of the flight as part of the September 11 attacks. She made a call to her husband on an airphone, and left a message telling him of the "problem on the plane".
, Indiana. She attended Stratford High School in Houston, Texas and later the University of Texas at Austin
where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi
. She met her husband, Jack Grandcolas, at the university.
She worked for a law firm and for PricewaterhouseCoopers
before becoming a marketing
expert for Good Housekeeping
. Grandcolas was also writing a book on self-help
for women, covering finance
and other topics. At the time of her death, a publisher was interested in her book. Three weeks prior to the September 11 attacks, she left her job at Good Housekeeping in order to dedicate herself to the book.
Her sisters worked together with the publisher, Chronicle Books, to get the book published after her death. The book, entitled You Can Do It!: The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls, was published on April 10, 2005. It provides a guide, modeled on the Girl Scouts' merit badge system, covering skills, such as negotiation
s, and life goals, such as horseback riding, scuba diving
, and completing a triathlon
. Book excerpts have appeared in Parade
, Glamour
, Shape
, Good Housekeeping
, and other magazines. Lauren's sisters also appeared on Good Morning America
on April 19, 2005, to discuss the book. The proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Foundation, which contributes funds to a college scholarship program, and charitable organizations across the United States.
Grandcolas was also involved with charitable organizations, including the United Way, March of Dimes
, Project Open Hand, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Breast Cancer Awareness, and Glide Memorial. She was also a certified emergency medical technician
.
, New Jersey, and was returning home to San Rafael
, California. She arrived early at the airport on September 11, 2001, allowing her to board United Airlines Flight 93
, which was earlier than her originally scheduled flight.
Grandcolas, who was originally seated in seat 11D, called her husband from towards the rear of the aircraft in row 23. She left a message for her husband, who was still sleeping, telling him of the "problem on the plane". Her last phone message to her husband was played in the docudrama
The Flight That Fought Back
. At the time of her death, at the age of 38, she was three months pregnant with their first child.
Grandcolas' father, Lawrence R. Catuzzi, served as co-chairman of the Flight 93 National Memorial
task force, from 2002 to 2005.
United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93 was United Airlines' scheduled morning transcontinental flight across the United States from Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport in California. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Boeing 757–222 aircraft operating the...
on September 11, 2001, who made calls, providing information about the hijacking of the flight as part of the September 11 attacks. She made a call to her husband on an airphone, and left a message telling him of the "problem on the plane".
Biography
Grandcolas (née Catuzzi) was born on August 31, 1963, in BloomingtonBloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
, Indiana. She attended Stratford High School in Houston, Texas and later the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Delta Pi is a fraternity founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The Executive office for this sorority is located on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. Alpha Delta Pi is one of the two "Macon Magnolias," a term used to celebrate the bonds it shares with Phi Mu...
. She met her husband, Jack Grandcolas, at the university.
She worked for a law firm and for PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest professional services firm measured by revenues and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms....
before becoming a marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
expert for Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...
. Grandcolas was also writing a book on self-help
Self-help
Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...
for women, covering finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
and other topics. At the time of her death, a publisher was interested in her book. Three weeks prior to the September 11 attacks, she left her job at Good Housekeeping in order to dedicate herself to the book.
Her sisters worked together with the publisher, Chronicle Books, to get the book published after her death. The book, entitled You Can Do It!: The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls, was published on April 10, 2005. It provides a guide, modeled on the Girl Scouts' merit badge system, covering skills, such as negotiation
Negotiation
Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties, intended to reach an understanding, resolve point of difference, or gain advantage in outcome of dialogue, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, to craft outcomes to satisfy...
s, and life goals, such as horseback riding, scuba diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
, and completing a triathlon
Triathlon
A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
. Book excerpts have appeared in Parade
Parade (magazine)
Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
, Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
, Shape
Shape Magazine
Shape Magazine is a monthly English language fitness magazine started by Weider Publications in 1981, founded by Christine MacIntyre and became the #1 women's fitness magazine...
, Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...
, and other magazines. Lauren's sisters also appeared on Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
on April 19, 2005, to discuss the book. The proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Foundation, which contributes funds to a college scholarship program, and charitable organizations across the United States.
Grandcolas was also involved with charitable organizations, including the United Way, March of Dimes
March of Dimes
The March of Dimes Foundation is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies.-Organization:...
, Project Open Hand, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Breast Cancer Awareness, and Glide Memorial. She was also a certified emergency medical technician
Emergency medical technician
Emergency Medical Technician or Ambulance Technician are terms used in some countries to denote a healthcare provider of emergency medical services...
.
Flight 93
Grandcolas had been attending her grandmother's funeral in CarlstadtCarlstadt, New Jersey
Carlstadt is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 6,127.Carlstadt was originally formed as a village by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 12, 1860, within Lodi Township. It was named after Dr...
, New Jersey, and was returning home to San Rafael
San Rafael, California
San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
, California. She arrived early at the airport on September 11, 2001, allowing her to board United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93 was United Airlines' scheduled morning transcontinental flight across the United States from Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport in California. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Boeing 757–222 aircraft operating the...
, which was earlier than her originally scheduled flight.
Grandcolas, who was originally seated in seat 11D, called her husband from towards the rear of the aircraft in row 23. She left a message for her husband, who was still sleeping, telling him of the "problem on the plane". Her last phone message to her husband was played in the docudrama
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
The Flight That Fought Back
The Flight that Fought Back
The Flight That Fought Back is a documentary film produced by the London-based company Brook Lapping Productions for the Discovery Channel about United Airlines Flight 93...
. At the time of her death, at the age of 38, she was three months pregnant with their first child.
Grandcolas' father, Lawrence R. Catuzzi, served as co-chairman of the Flight 93 National Memorial
Flight 93 National Memorial
The Flight 93 National Memorial is located at the site of the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked in the September 11 attacks, in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania, about north of Shanksville, and southeast of Pittsburgh. The memorial was made to honor the passengers of Flight...
task force, from 2002 to 2005.
Published works
- You Can Do It!: The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls, 2005 Chronicle Books; Bk&Sticker ISBN 0-8118-4635-0 (Published posthumously through the efforts of her sisters, Vaughn Lohec and Dara Near)
External links
- Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Foundation
- Lauren Grandcolas On-line Tribute
- Lauren Grandcolas on the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...