Jon Marmor’s final remembrance to the victims of a tragic plane crash on 9/12/2001
To the Huskies who perished 25 years ago in that Sept. 12 plane crash, I still remember you.
Top row, L-R: Karen O. Burks (with her daughters), Scott Douglas Columbia (with his wife, Debbie), Judy and Geoff Vernon. Middle row, L-R: Theodore D. Zylstra, Shirley and Charles Genther, Dwight and Lois Mitchell. Bottom row, L-R: Lisa Marie Styer (right, with her sorority sisters), Judy and Larry Wade, Barbara Ann Martin and Mary Kearney.
I am retired now but I still felt the pull to write this tribute to the 16 Husky souls who lost their lives in a plane crash in Mexico 25 years ago on Sept. 12, 2001. It was the day after 9/11 when word came of this tragedy, one I carry with me.
I remember it like it was yesterday. On Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001, I walked into the old Alumni House in the University District and Columns magazine editor Tom Griffin told me to write the story about Geoff Vernon and his wife Judy, who were on that plane that went down on the Yucatan peninsula. At the time, I was the associate editor of Columns, and I immediately gathered information about the 16 Huskies who were part of a joyous cruise from Southern California to Miami to watch the Huskies take on the powerful Miami Hurricanes in the Orange Bowl later that week.
Jon Marmor. Photo by Ron Wurzer.
We tore up the story lineup for the December 2001 Columns magazine so we could properly cover the impact of 9/11 and the devastation of 9/12. I went to visit every single family affected by 9/12 to talk to family members, borrow photos, hear stories and share the overwhelming grief.
Every September since then, I have written a tribute to those who died and those who loved them and miss them. A couple of years ago, I received a magnificent gift—an email from Sara Styer, the sister of Lisa Marie Styer, ’86. She wrote to tell me that her daughter, Liv Schiller (featured in the article “A Family’s Full-Circle Story,” Spring 2026 University of Washington Magazine), decided to enroll at the UW for college. Liv never met her late aunt as she was born five years after the tragedy. But she told me she loved wearing her aunt’s sweatshirts and jewelry—and coming to the UW, where many in her family had matriculated.
When I hear anyone or read in the news about an upcoming 9/11 milestone, my mind goes to those who suffered from the tragedy on 9/12, and I send them big virtual hugs to let them know I remember. And I will continue to remember them even as I embark on the next chapter after spending nearly half my life working for the UW Magazine. It’s the least I can do.
See also:
A family’s full-circle story
Sophomore Liv Schiller honors the memory of her aunt, a UW graduate who died in a plane crash 24 years ago.
24 years later, remembering the Huskies
Jon Marmor reflects on the losses the UW community endured on 9/11 and 9/12 after 24 years of grief.
Huskies in our hearts
On a tragic anniversary in UW history, editor Jon Marmor pays tribute to the 17 Huskies who lost their lives on 9/11 and 9/12, 2001.
9/12, 2001: Remember the Huskies
9/11, 2001: What we saw, what we felt, what it means
Voices from the UW community on the events of Sept. 11, 2001—experiencing the attacks, the links back to the UW, and perspectives on our uncertain new world.
Two stories of agony and hope
Two alumni who escaped the horror of Ground Zero bravely share their stories of trauma and hope.
The agony of September 12
Jon Marmor reflects on the lives lost on 9/12/2001, the day a sightseeing plane full of Husky football fans crashed in Mexico.
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A native of Seattle, Minoru Yamasaki, ’34, was born on Dec. 1, 1912, in a cold-water tenement in the Yesler Hill district of Seattle. His most famous work was the World Trade Center.