Siblings Reflect On RVC Mom, Mary Wieman, Who Died On 9/11

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY — The sunny, late summer day quickly became dark and sad. It was September 11, 2001. While many were watching the stunning images on television at home, Eight-year-old Alison Wieman and 12-year-old Chris Wieman were in school when the planes slammed into the Twin Towers.

Their mother, Mary, worked in one of the higher floors in the South Tower, the second building targeted by terrorists. She was an insurance marketing executive at Aon Corp. by day and held court in her family life in Rockville Centre with the children, including youngest Mary Julia, and husband Marc, who also worked in lower Manhattan and safely escaped the city on foot.

"I remember getting off the bus stop and our mom not being home," Alison told Patch through tears.

Her father Marc, who joined the exodus across the Brooklyn Bridge, sat the children down and said their mother "might not be home for a few days" due to an incident in the city.

But Alison understood it was more serious than she was led to believe.

"I had a gut feeling she wasn't coming home," Alison, a third-grader at St. Agnes Cathedral School, realized.

Chris, 12 years old at the time, learned the news during eighth period of middle school from a classmate named John, but no one believed him.

However, in the next and final period came an official announcement over the loudspeaker.

"From there you start to panic, hope that she made it out," Chris told Patch. "And that my mom was OK."

When he got home, Chris reconnected with his dad and their live-in nanny for 20 years. It was the first time he saw the horrific video of the terrorist attacks.

"I remember my sisters coming home crying," he said. "It didn't really hit that night until right before I was asleep, crying. My dad had to come in and, at that time, lie to me, saying everything is going to be alright."

The day put viewers in a fog as they watched what was happening in lower Manhattan. But for those personally impacted it was even harder to grasp the reality.

"We all tried not to encompass ourselves with too much in thinking about it," Alison said.
But school was a sanctuary of sorts for Alison, as her teacher would shower her with stuffed animals. Plus, therapy was offered to help her cope with the trauma. The Rockville Centre-based parochial school remained open.

"I think it was just all a blur for the next few weeks," she said.

Closure came in the form of Mary's class ring, found within the toxic rubble.

"But they didn't find anything else," Alison said.

Mary Lenz Wieman was 43 years old.

The grieving for Alison as a young girl was compounded by the tight-knit community of Rockville Centre, because "everybody knows your story and everyone's sorry for you," Alison said. "It was really nice going away to Villanova [University] where people didn't really know your story."

Chris said: "The town did an excellent job of being very supportive, but not quite as much as my family.... The whole world knows. It's not a private thing."

While milestones like the 20th anniversary can be hard for family members, memories are what they find solace in.

"One time while we were at Disney and my mom was pregnant," he recalled her wanting to go on a ride. "She had to tell them, 'I'm not pregnant. I'm just fat.’"

Another Disney memory came on a family vacation from London to Paris as a gift for the siblings' good behavior; they planned a visit to Euro Disney (now Disneyland Paris).

Their dad balked at the idea.

"My mom just had a way of convincing him to give in," Chris said.

From Alison's perspective, her mother "knew what we wanted [and] loved the finer things in life. She loved to party and loved to include everybody in having a good time. I try to embody those characteristics as much as I can.”

Chris, who lives in East Meadow and works at a Greek restaurant in Great Neck, isn’t caught up with this milestone commemoration.

“It doesn’t matter what number it is,” he said.

Alison, who works in KPMG for the compliance department and lives in Brooklyn, is ready to create new memories. She is getting married in June. Her fiance, Ben, ironically also went to Villanova, but is from an earlier graduating class.

Without her mom, though, the void is palpable.

“It’s crazy to think that now I’ve lived two-thirds of my life without her,” Alison said, with her voice cracking.