Remembering Kathy Nicosia, John Adams graduate and flight attendant who died in 9/11

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- On this 25th anniversary of 9/11, the terrorist attack that shook the nation, ABC57 is remembering the nearly 3,000 people who were killed that day.

Some who died had ties to Michiana.

Two graduates of John Adams High School in South Bend lost their lives on 9/11; Katie McCloskey, Class of 1994 and Kathleen (Hawk) Nicosia, Class of 1965.

Kathy Nicosia died doing what she loved.

"I can see Kathleen right now with her red lipstick on like an angel, a gem. A beautiful gem in the sky, a beautiful gem in the sky," says Charlene Jones, a former coworker of Nicosia's.

On September 11th, 2001 54-year-old Kathy Nicosia was working.

She was onboard American Airlines Flight 11 headed towards Los Angeles, her regular route as a flight attendant.

But the flight was hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists and crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center, marking the very moment that day turned tragic.

It's the moment Charlene Jones says her world stopped.

"I was in Boston when I heard about it on the Today Show," recalls Jones. "I couldn't believe it. I called my supervisor and I said, 'Rosie, you tell me who was on that plane.' She said, 'Charlene, you know I cannot do that.' And I said 'Oh yes, you can, I'll drive into Logan. She said 'You can't, everything's shut down. So, I said, 'Please, please tell me.' And she did. My heart broke and I ran to the nearest church. And I prayed and I cried."

Jones is a retired American Airlines flight attendant who serviced Flight 11.

She was on vacation that day.

She knew every single crew member who died onboard.

"They were not only my friends; they were my family," Jones says. "I spent more time with my family crew members of 9/11 than I even spent with my own family."

She recalls Kathy as the senior flight attendant at Boston Logan International Airport, and the very first face she saw as she boarded her first plane as a flight attendant in 1988.

From there came thirteen years of mentorship and fond memories.

"Kathleen taught me everything I knew about being a purser and a galley flight attendant," Jones explains.

"It was Kathleen, Betty and I were trying to open wine bottles. And Kathleen said, 'Girls, that's not going to cut it on Flight 11; you're way too slow.' So, we said, 'Well Kathleen, what do we do?' 'I'll show you what the Boston crew does.' You take a wine bottle, you tip it upside down in a Styrofoam cup, you let it wait in hot water, you count to five, take it out, pop that cork, and you're in business."

Before making a living traveling the country, Kathy spent her childhood years in South Bend, attending John Adams High School in the early 1960's.

At the time her last name was Hawk.

"I remember Kathy Hawk as sitting right behind me in homeroom for four years, because we had the same room for homeroom for four years and you kind of became friends with those people," explains Kathleen Arnold, a John Adams Class of 1965 graduate. "We used to sign each other's yearbooks and photos; we traded our pictures with each other and signed the back of those too."

Arnold, a former classmate of Kathy's says she was well-known for her involvement in school clubs, particularly, serving as Editor in Chief of the school yearbook.

To this day she thinks of Kathy when she picks up her yearbook.

"I can still remember gathering, you can imagine how much different it was, gathering the actual photos that had to be developed and picking which ones went where," Arnold recalls. "I don't even know how she knew how to do that, but she did, and it's really beautiful, I still have it."

Arnold remembers Kathy as being a sweet, quiet, and hardworking student and says she never would have expected her to become a flight attendant.

That's why she didn't know until her 40th class reunion in 2005 that Kathy died in 9/11, leaving behind a husband and daughter.

"I remember looking at the board and seeing her picture and I was like 'What?' I was like in shock," Arnold says.

Now, Kathy's name lives forever at her alma mater on a plaque along with Katie McCloskey.

The school's Civil Air Patrol honors their lives there, along with all lives lost in 9/11.

After 25 years, Kathy Nicosia lives on in the hearts of her loved ones to this day.

"It makes me sad to think about it, but I know they live on in legacy. I know they live on in all their family and friends left behind," says Jones.

Both Kathy Nicosia and Katie McCloskey are being remembered through this year's John Adams homecoming shirt, as the Eagle's homecoming football game falls on the 25th anniversary of 9/11.