Marisa DiNardo
Born(1962-12-31)December 31, 1962
DiedSeptember 11, 2001(2001-09-11) (aged 38)
Cause of deathTerrorist attack
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationHarrison High School
OccupationNatural gas supplier
EmployerCantor Fitzgerald

Marisa DiNardo Schorpp (December 31, 1962 – September 11, 2001) was a natural gas supplier employed by Cantor Fitzgerald who was killed in the North Tower of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks in 2001.[1]

Life

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Family, education and work at the World Trade Center

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Marisa was born on December 31, 1962, daughter of Pio DiNardo and Ester DiNardo.[2] Marisa had a younger brother; hairstylist, singer, screenwriter, actor and director Harley DiNardo. He grew up in West Harrison and attended Harrison High School, although he would eventually settle in White Plains.[2] Devoutly religious and animal lover, Marisa, who had the habit of sitting near fire escapes when she went to the movies,[3] married Jeffrey Schorpp[4] and dedicated part of her time to collecting figures of angels[5] in addition to giving and receiving as gifts of art related to angelic images.[2] At the time of her death, she was working as a natural gas supplier[6] for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 105th floor of 1 World Trade Center[7] (she had considered accepting a job in New Jersey, although she ultimately remained at Cantor Fitzgerald at the request of his boss).[3]

Death

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Previous night

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On the night of September 10, 2001, Marisa organized a dinner for six people at the Windows on the World restaurant,[7] on the 107th floor of the North Tower, to celebrate her mother's birthday. During dinner, at which there was dancing, Ester talked about the views that could be seen from the top of the tower, to which Marisa responded: "Mom, I have you on top of the world."[2] After ending the evening around 1:30 a.m.[7] on September 11 and paying the bill (which included two $200 bottles of wine), DiNardo waited with her mother and brother for the arrival of a car. to take her home. Harley, who saw Marisa sad and tired (she had just separated from her husband and had accumulated many hours of work), suggested that she take the day off, to which she refused, arguing that she had to go to her office at 8:30 to attend a meeting. After saying goodbye, Marisa waited alone for the arrival of the vehicle that would take her home, sitting on the couch in a hotel near the World Trade Center. Harley was worried about Marisa because two weeks earlier his sister had invited him to dinner at her house and, through tears, had told him that she was going to die soon due to a disturbing dream she had had.[3]

September 11

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At 8:46 a.m. American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower. The impact occurred between the 93rd and 99th floors, destroying any escape route and trapping all occupants above the 92nd floor. Herb Petry, Marisa's friend (he had met her and Harley again at a coffee shop the previous week), tried to contact DiNardo via intercom, asking if she was okay. Because Marisa could not communicate by phone, she spoke to Petry via AIM:

Marisa: Something just hit our building. It's filling with smoke. I'm having trouble breathing.

Herb: You can go to the kitchen to put something on your face?

Marisa: I'm going to try to call my mother and run.[3]

Petry, who was at the Goldman Sachs offices in Lower Manhattan at the time, fled the premises as soon as United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower. Although Marisa stated that she was going to call her mother, the call was never made. It is known that DiNardo did contact her husband and that she did so perhaps because he had been an electrician and could help her find an escape route since he knew the layout of New York office buildings (Jeffrey only He stated that his wife called him only once after the first plane hit).[3] Several of Marisa's acquaintances speculated that she had gone to the roof; Weeks before the attacks, during a conversation with Petry's wife, Brenda, about the 1993 attack, DiNardo said: "If something happened again, I would go to the roof."[3]

Stacey Peak's mother, Marisa's best friend in Cantor Fitzgerald, claimed that her daughter, who was unaware that a plane had crashed into the tower,[8] told her over the phone that they were trying to get out and maybe go to the roof. For its part, the answering machine at the home of Stephen L. Roach, a Cantor Fitzgerald executive who died in the attack, recorded a recording in which several of the victims could be heard shouting "let's try for the roof, let's try for the roof."[8] At least 200 people went to the roof,[3] whose access was closed.

It is unknown whether Marisa and those who were with her died from smoke poisoning or from the collapse, although it is known that several of the victims of the World Trade Center (between 37 and 50 in the North Tower)[9] jumped out of the building, not surviving, something of which Marisa may have done. No remains of DiNardo were ever recovered, although approximately six months after the attacks, Marisa's purse, recovered from the rubble, was delivered to the family. Inside were several credit cards, a Blockbuster card, several identification cards, photographs of Marisa and the Windows on the World bill receipt,[10] which amounted to $729.44.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Zuckerman, Gregory (9 September 2016). "15 Years After 9/11, a Brother Confronts Grief's Long Arc". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Stone, Adam (September 14, 2011). "Marisa Di Nardo Schorpp: December 31, 1962 – September 11, 2001". theexaminernews.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Zuckerman, Gregory (September 9, 2016). "15 Years After 9/11, a Brother Confronts Grief's Long Arc". wsj.com.
  4. ^ a b "Receipt, Recovered". collection.911memorial.org.
  5. ^ "Marisa Dinardo". legacy.com. 17 October 2001.
  6. ^ "From the archives. The day before an American tragedy: dispatches from Sept. 10, 2001". USA Today. September 10, 2001.
  7. ^ a b c Morgan, Julie (March 3, 2012). "In Memory of Marisa Dinardo Schorpp". remember911tribute.
  8. ^ a b Paltrow, Scot J.; Sook, Kim Queena (October 23, 2001). "Could Helicopters Have Saved People From the Top of the Trade Center?". wsj.com.
  9. ^ "La lucha por sobrevivir en los últimos minutos dentro de las Gemelas". La Nación.
  10. ^ Morgan, Julie (March 3, 2012). "In Memory of Marisa Dinardo Schorpp". remember911tribute.