Lisa Beamer

Lisa Brosious Beamer (born April 10, 1969) is an American writer. The widow of Todd Beamer, a victim of the United Flight 93 crash as part of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, she has become best known for her actions following the disaster.

Lisa Brosious Beamer
Born
Lisa Brosious

(1969-04-10) April 10, 1969
Albany, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationWriter, activist
Known forWife of United Airlines Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer
Notable work
Let's Roll!: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1994; died 2001)​

She is a 1991 graduate of Wheaton College; she gave the 2011 commencement address at Wheaton.[1]

Post-9/11 career

At the time of the attacks, Lisa Beamer was five months pregnant with her daughter, Morgan Kay, who was born on January 9, 2002. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, the pregnant Beamer had a high profile, with more than 200 media appearances in six months.[2] She was introduced by President George W. Bush at a commemoration ceremony. Shortly after the attacks, she set up the Todd M. Beamer Memorial Foundation, which was initially run by a family friend.[3] The organization sought to trademark the phrase "Let's Roll," which was the subject of some criticism after some accused her of seeking to profit from her husband's death.[4][5][6]

In 2003, Beamer and co-author Ken Abraham wrote a book about Todd and her attempts to deal with her grief over his death, Let's Roll!: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage,[7] about Todd and Beamer's life before the crash and her life since. Royalties from the book were donated to the Todd M. Beamer Foundation, which was founded in 2001 by Beamer and others to help children who have suffered trauma. The organization was later renamed Heroic Choices. As of 2007, Heroic Choices, was struggling to maintain financial viability. According to the Board Chair, "[as with any charity created after 9/11], the farther you get away from the event, the more difficult it is to raise funds."[8]

References
  1. Meyer, Erin (7 May 2011). "Widow of 9/11 hero cheered at Wheaton College". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  2. "Hero Widow': The Making of Lisa Beamer's 9/11 Celebrity". American Studies Journal 62 (2017). March 14, 2020.
  3. "'Let's roll' rallying cry sparks several Web sites". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 4, 2001.
  4. "Iconic 9/11 figures: Where are they now? - US news - 9/11: Nine Years Later | NBC News". NBC News. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  5. Weber, Cynthia (2008). "Popular visual language as global communication: the remediation of United Airlines Flight 93". In Constantinou, Costas M.; Richmond, Oliver P.; Watson, Alison (eds.). Cultures and Politics of Global Communication: Volume 34, Review of International Studies. Cambridge University Press. pp. 141–143. ISBN 9780521727112. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  6. Rall, Ted (2006). America Gone Wild: Cartoons by Ted Rall. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 9780740760457. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  7. Beamer, Lisa; Ken Abraham (2003). Let's Roll: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage. Tyndale House Publishers. ISBN 0-8423-7418-3.
  8. Hrywna, Mark (February 1, 2007). "On Shaky Financial Ground, Beamer Foundation Struggles to Remain Viable (reprint)". The Non-profit Times. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
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