Lauren Grandcolas (August 31, 1963 – September 11, 2001) 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 a "problem with the plane".
She worked for a law firm and for
PricewaterhouseCoopers[2] 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.[4]
Her sisters worked together with the publisher,
Chronicle Books, to get the book published after her death.[5] The book, entitled You Can Do It!: The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls, was published on April 10, 2005.[6] It provides a guide, modeled on the Girl Scouts' merit badge system,[7] covering skills, such as
negotiations, and life goals, such as
horseback riding,
scuba diving, and completing a
triathlon.[8][9] Book excerpts have appeared in Parade, Glamour, Shape, Good Housekeeping, and other magazines.[10] Grandcolas's sisters appeared on Good Morning America on April 19, 2005, to discuss the book.[11] The proceeds from sales of the book go to the Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Foundation, which contributes funds to a college scholarship program.[12]
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.[2] She was also a certified
emergency medical technician.[13]
September 11 attacks
"Jack, pick up sweetie, can you hear me? Okay. I just want to tell you, there's a little problem with the plane. I'm fine. I'm totally fine. I just want to tell you how much I love you."
Message left by Lauren Grandcolas from United 93.[14]
Grandcolas, who was originally seated in seat 11D, called her husband from towards the rear of the aircraft in row 23.[16] She left a message for her husband, who was still sleeping, telling him of the "problem with the plane".[14] Her last phone message to her husband was played in the
docudramaThe Flight That Fought Back.[17] She then passed her phone to Honor Elizabeth Wainio.[18] At the time of her death, at the age of 38, she was three months pregnant with their first child.[17]
Grandcolas and her unborn child were memorialized at the South Pool, on Panel S-68, along with other passengers on Flight 93, at the
National 9/11 Memorial.[21]
Published works
You Can Do It!: The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls, 2005 Chronicle Books; Bk&Sticker
ISBN0-8118-4635-0 (Published posthumously through the efforts of her sisters, Vaughn Lohec and Dara Near)
In popular culture
In the 2005 television film The Flight That Fought Back, which depicts the passenger uprising inside the hijacked United Airlines 93, Lauren Grandcolas is portrayed by Christy Dawn Little.
She is portrayed by Jacqueline Ann Steuart in the 2006 film Flight 93.
^Grandcolas, Lauren Catuzzi (March 24, 2005). You Can Do It!: The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls (Paperback). Chronicle Books.
ISBN0811846350.
^Upshaw, Jennifer (April 25, 2005). "Book by Sept. 11 victim is going on tour". Marin Independent Journal.
^
abToby, Mekeisha Madden (September 10, 2005). "9-11 special tells story of the struggle on Flight 93; Unsettling documentary imagines the jetliner's final journey over Pennsylvania". The Detroit News.