FAIRFIELD, CT — About 100 people took part in an unveiling ceremony Tuesday night for a new 9/11 memorial and accompanying plaque that now sits at the back of the Oak Lawn Cemetery and Arboretum.
The memorial, consisting of two 8-foot granite towers, was designed by Dean Powers, the facility’s longtime caretaker.
He had worked carefully on his design, but then died in June 2020, never seeing the finished work.
Special recognition was also given for the garden he created nearby, which has grown from an overgrown tangle to part of the pollinator lane.
“I can’t believe how awesome it looks,” said Bronson Hawley, president of Oak Lawn. “It is a gift from him to us and we will forever cherish it, and we will honor it.”
Along with various attendees at the ceremony held in the far southeast corner of the huge facility, Jed Glick, of Summit, New Jersey, was the guest of honor.
Her brother, Jeremy Glick, was on Flight 93 on September 11, 2001 and was among the group of men who fought back against the terrorists on board, when the flight ultimately crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Jed Glick did not speak at the ceremony, but unveiled a stone plaque next to the memorial inscribed with the words “OK, let’s go”, which was spoken by one of the martyrs of the flight 93.
“It’s always an honor to see the time and energy people put in,” Glick said of the ceremony and memorials. “I am happy to support this.”
“We all remember where we were 20 years ago,” said first coach Brenda Kupchick, who spoke of the grief for everyone in the country.
She called the memorial very special in a very special setting.
