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In Memory of Dianne
Marine Guests Help Ease 9/11 Sadness
A story By Elena Gaona, STAFF WRITER of the San Diego Union Tribune on November 26, 2004 describes the following:
There is still that vision, ingrained in her sister's head, of a young Dianne Gladstone with a huge turkey leg in her hand.
"She'd take big bites out of it. It covered her whole face," said Jayne Marx yesterday as she prepared a Thanksgiving meal in honor of her late sister.
Dianne Gladstone, 55, was one of the 2,626 people who died in New York's World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
Yesterday, the Marx family honored Gladstone and gave thanks for a "blessed life" by inviting young Marines from Camp Pendleton to share the holiday with them.
Jayne Marx ruined one batch of twice-baked potatoes and a turkey Wednesday while trying to make sure the meal would be perfect for her guests, she said.
"I really wanted to do this," she said. "I feel it's important to give back for everything they do for us."
It's been three long years since the 9/11 terror attacks, Marx said, and each day her sister is missed.
Gladstone had worked for 37 years at the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and was four months from retiring. She had just celebrated her 30th wedding anniversary with husband Herb Gladstone. They had been looking forward to retiring to a house near the water on Long Island.
"My sister's in one of those buildings!" Marx remembers screaming when she saw news reports Sept. 11, 2001.
Since then, the family has learned about Gladstone's last moments, when, possibly injured with one or two broken legs, she struggled to escape the 78th floor of the second tower of the World Trade Center. Two co-workers who tried to help her also died.
It's as if it were yesterday, Marx said.
"I spent the first two years missing her so much I didn't care about the details," Marx said.
Gladstone's friends in New York have shared stories with Marx about Gladstone's life there. She was known for her independent and caring spirit.
Marx looks to those memories for healing. She attends grief groups, is planning to go to a retreat for relatives of Sept. 11 victims next month, and keeps a special photo album of her and her sister made by Marx's daughter.
She also takes comfort from any opportunity to show support for military service members.
"I'm thankful we have such a blessed life," Marx said. "I feel strongly these Marines are risking their lives for us so we can have that life."
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