Mourning Eugenia 'Gigi' Singer
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2026 Blog #32
September 14, 2026
Mourning Eugenia 'Gigi' Singer
I attended the September 11 Memorial Service in Glen Rock this past Friday. I try to attend these memorials each year. I had one friend die on September 11. Many people I know feel that pain of this day more than I do. Some people I know lost family members. Others that I know are mourning more than one person. These memorial services help people who are hurting to manage their grief. I assume that someday these memorial services will no longer be needed but that is far into the future. There will come a generation who were not born during these attacks. For them, these ceremonies will not be necessary. Until then, we gather to mourn.
Glen Rock suffered the deaths of eleven people during those murderous attacks. This is a small number compared to other towns and cities, but it is a high number compared to the size of this town. We are a small town that suffered a big loss on that day.
Recently I heard of a woman from Glen Rock who escaped the twin towers. Because of her escape, she will never have her name on a September 11 plaque, but she was a victim of that attack as much as anyone was. I must give a shout out to Brian Aber, a friend and fellow worshipper at the Community Church of Glen Rock who told me about this woman.
Gigi Singer was born in Neptune, NJ but grew up in Glen Rock. Her family was close friends with Brian and his family. Brian went to grammar school with Gigi’s little brother, Aaron, and their families did many social things together. She was a vivacious girl and anyone who knew here had no doubt that she would be a huge success in life. Their predictions came true.
Gigi went on to finish her bachelor’s degree from John Hopkins University and her MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. After this she went on to a career in finance and worked for several major banks. All those who knew her reported that she was thriving and moved out of Glen Rock and into Scarsdale, NY from where she commuted to her job at Aon in the World Trade Center. Aon occupied offices high in the South Tower.
The first plane struck the North Tower, but her manager made the decision for their employees to evacuate despite a PA announcement that the South Tower was secure. Singer, and many other employees were in the 78th floor sky lobby waiting for an elevator to the street when the second plane struck her building, the South Tower. This lobby, with a working elevator, had been a refuge for many who were waiting to evacuate. It also became a death trap when the second plane hit the South Tower. It is estimated that one third of the deaths in the South Tower were in this lobby when this tower was struck by the second plane.
Singer was injured but with 11 other people, she was able to walk down to the 40th floor where there was a working elevator that brought her down to the street. Bloody and burned, she sat on the curb as she was triaged before being brought to the hospital for treatment. A picture of her sitting on the curb was featured in newspapers, and magazine covers as part of the September 11 coverage.
It was a miracle that she escaped on that day, but the results of this attack lingered with her. She developed lung disorders from the toxins that she breathed while escaping the South Tower and her life was never quite the same after that. She was 48 years old when she was caught in the murderous rage of the planes’ hijackers and she was able to live for another twenty years. She died at age seventy in 2023. Her name is not on a plaque with those who died on September 11, but that attack did kill her, and she deserves to be remembered.
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