[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15688]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    IN MEMORIAM: MARGARET WAHLSTROM

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I would like to take this 
opportunity to share with the Senate the memory of Mary Alice 
Wahlstrom, who lost her life on September 11, 2001. Mrs. Wahlstrom was 
78 years old when the flight she was on, American Airlines Flight 11, 
was hijacked by terrorists. As we all know, that plane crashed into the 
World Trade Center, killing everyone on board.
  Mrs. Wahlstrom and her daughter, Carolyn Beug, were traveling 
together on that tragic day. They were returning to their homes after 
having settled Mrs. Beug's twin daughters at the Rhode Island School of 
Design. This American family lost two dearly beloved women on September 
11. ``The one thing those terrorists cannot destroy is love. They 
cannot destroy the love we have in this family, and the love people 
have for each other,'' says Margaret Wahlstrom, daughter-in-law of Mrs. 
Wahlstrom.
  Mary Alice Wahlstrom was traveling throughout Europe as a young 
socialite until she met, and fell in love with, Norman Wahlstrom, 
Senior. He was a World War II hero and like most Air Force families, 
they moved many times. They raised five children together, finally 
settling in Utah, where Mary Alice became a loan officer.
  Mrs. Wahlstrom shared a zest for life with those around her. She is 
remembered as a vibrant, exuberant woman. One neighbor called her, 
``dynamic, with a wonderful outlook on life.'' She loved to laugh. Mrs. 
Wahlstrom exercised daily, played the piano and volunteered as an usher 
at Temple Square. She enjoyed reading, traveling, debating current 
events and going to the movies. ``She was a ball of fire. She was 78 
when she died, but she could have lived another 25 years. I have no 
doubt about it,'' says her son Scott Wahlstrom.
  During the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Olympic Games, her son, 
Norman Wahlstrom, Jr., carried the Olympic torch in Ogden, Utah, in 
honor of his mother. ``As with every boy that ever lived, my mother was 
a shining example of hope and promise. She had a wonderful, perpetual 
smile and contagious laugh,'' says Wahlstrom.
  None of us is untouched by the terror of September 11, and many 
Californians were part of each tragic moment of that tragic day. Some 
were trapped in the World Trade Center towers. Some were at work in the 
Pentagon. And the fates of some were sealed as they boarded planes 
bound for San Francisco or Los Angeles.
  I offer today this tribute to an American who perished on that awful 
morning. I want to assure the family of Mary Alice Wahlstrom, and the 
families of all the victims, that their fathers and mothers, sons and 
daughters, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters will not be 
forgotten.

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