The family of CeeCee Ross Lyles, a Fort Pierce flight attendant who died on United Flight 93, gathered in Shanksville, Pennsylvania this week for the 25th anniversary ceremony at the Flight 93 Memorial. Lyles and other passengers and crew fought back against hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001, forcing the plane to crash into a field in Pennsylvania and preventing it from reaching its intended target in Washington, D.C.
A statue stands in Lyles' honor on the shores of the Indian River Lagoon in Fort Pierce. Her husband said at the anniversary, "The 25th anniversary. I feel like every day or, well, almost every day, because her picture is all around the house. You know, I really miss her. She was such a beautiful woman."
Lyles grew up in Fort Pierce and served as a police officer and detective before pursuing her childhood dream of becoming a flight attendant. She had been in the role for just 10 months before Sept. 11. That day, 19 minutes into the hijacking, Lyles called her husband and left a message on their answering machine.
"Baby, you have to listen to me carefully," she said. Calmly, she asked him to tell her sons, Jerome and Javon, that she loved them. Moments later, passengers and crew stormed the cockpit.
Today, Lyles' sons are parents themselves. "She would have three grandkids. She would have three for myself and three from Javon.
"So she would be arms full at the moment. Yes, she would," said Jerome. "Twenty-five years is … it's been a long time of missing her and, you know, wishing she was here with her family and kids and my kids and, you know, a lot of, a lot of moments, like a lot of, you know, cherished moments have been missed," he added.
Lyles' brother, Tony, said, "She was a good, good, good sister that cared about people. And I just miss her with all my heart and just glad to have been a part of her life for as long as I was." A family member said, "One good thing that came out of it was that the nation and all and everybody just came together in a spirit of unity, and that seemed to have lasted for a couple of months. And I pray that as we enter into this 25th year anniversary, that we can celebrate that spirit of unity."
Each year, the family awards scholarships in Lyles' name to graduating seniors, who must write an essay about her life to earn it. Some family members say the community they have found at the Shanksville memorial now feels like family of its own.