By Lara Bricker, lbricker@seacoastonline.com
PLAISTOW — An
American flag now hangs from the front porch of the old Victorian house on
Palmer Avenue that Carol Flyzik spent hours painting and restoring with her
family over the past 13 years.
The flag is an appropriate symbol of the spirit of the American
people and of Carol's loved ones, who have been struggling to make sense of her
sudden death.
The 40-year-old Plaistow resident was killed when American
Airlines Flight 11 was deliberately crashed into one of the World Trade Center
towers by terrorists.
Flyzik leaves her partner of 12 years, Nancy Walsh, of Plaistow;
her brother Mark, his wife Cathy and their twin sons Nathan and Benjamin, of
Plaistow; her sister Linda Pritchard, her husband Ed and their son Edwin, of
Brunswick, Maine; her sister Claudia, of Atkinson; and her parents Janet and
Charles Flyzik, of West Newfield, Maine.
She bought the old Victorian house in 1988 with Claudia and took
pride in renovating it herself, with the help of her family.
"It's still Carol's house and it's going to stay that way," her
brother said.
Flyzik was the supervisor of marketing support for Medical
Information Technology Inc. of Westwood, Mass.
On Tuesday morning, she was on her way to California on a
business trip.
"We were hoping for a miracle that she had perhaps changed
flight plans," said Larry Schmidt, the senior marketing manager at MIT Inc.
Schmidt said Flyzik showed compassion for her fellow employees
as well as professionalism in her job.
"She just took an interest in everybody; she did not have any
airs or pretensions," Schmidt said. "When you talked with her, you always knew
she was being honest and sincere."
As Mark drove to work Tuesday morning, he called Carol's number
at work to ask her if she had heard about the plane crash. When he got no
answer, he called Walsh. She was watching the horrifying events unfold on
television with a feeling of fear, knowing her partner was on a Flight 11, but
not knowing what airline she was on. The next 12 hours were hell.
"We just waited," Claudia said.
At 9 p.m. on Tuesday, the family got confirmation that Carol was
on American Airlines Flight 11. As her siblings, friends and co-workers talked
about Carol Thursday, several things became clear: She was a person who helped
anyone in need, loved life and valued her family ties.
Just last weekend, Carol volunteered to move a friend of Maryann
Cavan, who is Walsh's sister. She didn't know the person, but it made no
difference.
"She did it so often that you didn't even know she did it,"
Cavan said of Carol's help for others.
Flyzik previously worked as a registered nurse in the emergency
room at Hale Hospital in Haverhill, Mass. Plaistow Fire Lt. Jon Lovett, who is a
paramedic, called Flyzik one of the best nurses he's worked with in the ER.
"No matter what we brought in, she could handle it," Lovett
said. "She was a wonderful, wonderful nurse. No matter what she faced, she did
it with a smile on her face."
Carol often took her twin nephews to the beach for the day or to
her house. Mark smiled as he remembered some of the funny things she taught them
such as how to say "Hello Newman," the well-known line from the show "Seinfeld,"
and "What's up" the catch phrase of the Budweiser commercials.
"The things they came out with after they were with her," Mark
said.
Her nephew Nathan called Carol "Auntie Boing Boing" because she
always bounced him on her knee. Mark and his wife have not yet been able to tell
their sons their aunt is gone.
During family gatherings and holidays, Carol was known for
bringing gourmet fare that constantly amazed her family.
"She finds the weirdest things," Mark said, adding during Labor
Day she made a Mexican dish with jalapeno-flavored nacho chips, which he never
even knew existed.
Claudia said her sister had just started experimenting with Thai
food and had mastered the technique so that her Thai was "as good as the
restaurants."
Claudia often just showed up at her sister's house to "chill
out" and have a martini. That small thing is one of the things about her sister
she will mist the most.
Carol and Nancy have been partners for 12 years, during which
Carol helped raise Nancy's three children — Joey, Kevin and Kristin.
"She would play basketball like she was the neighborhood
mother," Claudia said.
One year, the couple rented a van and drove across country with
Nancy's three children and Carol's nephew Edwin, visiting the Grand Canyon and
other landmarks.
But even at home in Plaistow, she went out of her way to be
there for Nancy's children, her nephews and the other kids in her neighborhood.
"She would listen to them, she would goof around with them,"
Claudia said.
For her family and friends, the sudden and unthinkable act that
took Carol's life is still hard to believe. Their normal routine is gone. Cavan
had just watched a Patriots game with Carol, who was an avid sports fan, on
Sunday.
"She was disappointed in the Red Sox, but had high hopes for the
Patriots."
A memorial service is planned for 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 19,
at the First Congregational Church in Georgetown, Mass. Close Window to Return toTBC Web
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http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/rock/r9_21c.htm
By Lara Bricker,
lbricker@seacoastonline.com
PLAISTOW - A scholarship fund has been established in Carol Flyzik's name by
the nurses she used to work with at Hale Hospital
The Hale Professional Nurses Unit in conjunction with the
Massachusetts Nurses Association and Massachusetts Nurses Foundation announced
the formation of the scholarship this week. "I can think of no better way to
preserve Carol's memory and to celebrate her nursing career than with the
establishment of this fund," wrote Jeanine Hickey, RN.
Flyzik was an emergency room nurse at Hale Hospital before she took a
job at Meditech, where she was working at the time of her death.
"Carol will always be remembered for her professionalism and her
caring attitude not only for her patients, but for her colleagues as well,"
Hickey wrote. "In her role as a member of the Personnel Committee, Carol was
always advocating for the rights of all nurses here at the hospital. You could
always count on Carol for bringing a little humor into tense negotiation
situations and for bringing a smile to the faces of her colleagues when the
day's events became too stressful. She was an excellent role model and colleague
and she will be greatly missed."
Checks can be made out to:
The Massachusetts Nurses Foundation
(Please include Carol Flyzik's name on the bottom left of the check)
340 Turnpike St.,
Canton, Mass 02021
Flyzik's family offered three places other memorial donations can be
made to:
The American Red Cross The Human Rights Campaign Gilda's Club Close Window to Return toTBC Web
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28 Concord St.,
Nashua, N.H. 03064
Suite 800
919 18th St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
360 Route 101
Bedford,
N.H. 03110
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/rock/r9_21b.htm
By Lara Bricker,
lbricker@seacoastonline.com
GEORGETOWN, Mass. — In
the same white church where she sung in the church choir as a youngster, family
and friends remembered Carol Flyzik on Wednesday afternoon as someone who loved
life, loved her family and always went out of her way to help anyone in need.
Ed Pritchard, Carol's brother-in-law, read a letter his wife Linda
had written to her sister Tuesday night, just one week after Carol's death.
"I hope you did not suffer and I hope you were not afraid because you
were not alone, we were all with you," Linda wrote. "Most likely you were trying
to help others who were scared or injured, you were always helping others. If
you were alive, I know you would be helping (now)."
Linda ended her letter, "P.S. — I will write again soon."
Flyzik, 40, of Plaistow, was one of the 92 passengers and crew who
died when American Airlines Flight 11 was hijacked and deliberately crashed into
one of the World Trade Center towers last week. She was on her way to California
for a business trip.
Her memorial service drew almost 1,000 people, with several hundred
standing and sitting on chairs outside the First Congregational Church in
Georgetown, Mass. The Flyzik family grew up in Georgetown and Carol's mother Jan
was the music director and organist for the church.
The service included traditional hymns and prayers, several eulogies
from family and friends as well as patriotic songs like "Proud to Be An
American" and "God Bless America."
Carol was remembered for her love of yard sales, her hat and squirt
gun collection and her dry sense of humor. While her "one-liners" often were the
hit of a conversation, she could also take a joke.
Suzanne Cavan, the sister of Carol's partner of 12 years Nancy Walsh,
remembered the quiet way Carol came into their family. "Once you knew her
better, she was a person you could count on, not only to lend a helping hand,
but humor and candor to the situation," Cavan said. "Over the years, she not
only became part of our family, it was her you looked for (at family
gatherings)."
The song "Hero" was played after Cavan's words. Lisa D'Amelio, a
co-worker of Carol's from Meditech, spoke of Carol's professionalism at work, as
well as her caring nature for those she worked with. "It was Carol's dedication
to her job that put her on that plane," D'Amelio said. "People were naturally
drawn to Carol in good times and bad. I know in my heart that Carol's OK, but
it's those of us who are left behind who are struggling."
The song "I Will Never Be The Same" by Melissa Etheridge was played.
Just before the candlelight remembrance portion of the service, the skies became
gray and a light breeze picked up outside. Those at the service then lighted
hundreds of white candles as the song "Candle in the Wind" played.
Carol's high school music teacher from Georgetown played a recording
from the high school jazz band when Carol was a member. She played the
saxophone.
Carol was the type of person who always went to the aid of those in
pain. Those who knew and loved her feel her presence is still here as they
struggle to come to grips with her sudden death. "Even now, she has her arms
around us, comforting us in our sorrow," Cavan said.
Flyzik leaves her partner of 12 years, Nancy Walsh, of Plaistow; her
brother Mark, his wife Cathy and their twin sons Nathan and Benjamin, of
Plaistow; her sister Linda Pritchard, her husband Ed and their son Edwin, of
Brunswick, Maine; her sister Claudia, of Atkinson; and her parents Janet and
Charles Flyzik, of West Newfield, Maine.
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