2026 marks 25 years since the September 11th attacks on the United States. One of the 2,977 victims that day was Margaret Elaine Mattic, who was from Detroit.
See the full story in the video below
Margaret was one of 16 people from Michigan who died when America was attacked. WXYZ Anchor Diana Lewis and Producer Barry Cutler have kept in touch with the Mattic family over the years.
They've organized reunions on 9/11 anniversaries, so you could hear their voices, learn about their story, and honor their loving mother, Katie, and their remarkable sister, Margaret.
"I said, 'Oh my, look what is happening,'" her mother, Katie, said. "I said, 'It's happening in New York.' I began to get a little bit puzzled then, because I thought about this is where Margaret is," Katie told us during a past interview.
A mother whose simple words, born from unimaginable brief, carried the memory of a daughter she would never bring home.
Over the years, the ashes of that disaster ignited an unexpected friendship between the Mattic family, former WXYZ Anchor Diana Lewis, and me.
I invited Katie's three daughters to sit down once again with Diana. They listened closely to their mother's gripping words about that tragic day when they all lost Margaret.
"There was something about Mattic family trusted me with story," Diana told me.
The Mattic family reached out to Diana so long ago to tell their story, and they reunited once again at Broadcast House to honor Margaret and their loving mother.
"Margaret was so very down to earth, very sensitive," Vivan Mattic, Margaret's sister, said.
"She always wanted to know your business, but did not want to share hers. That's how she was," Jean Neal, her sister, said.
"She was very bossy, very bossy," Frances Mattic said.
Margaret was the youngest of Katie's five daughters. She was only 51 when the World Trade Center crumbled.
"I wanted her to be rescued. Just holding on to any kind of hope I could," Katie said.
Margaret was in New York writing plays, pursuing her dream of acting, and working for General Telecom on the 83rd floor of the North Tower. She and 13 coworkers were among those who never made it home.
"We never saw her, heard her voice again, or anything," Katie said at the time.
25 years later, the Mattic sisters found comfort in Katie's delicate voice, echoing through time to help them heal.
I also learned some new interesting tidbits as the sisters traded tales, like Margaret comforting Jean after Jean's husband died, or the time their dad became ill, and Margaret stuck by his side.
The Mattic family held a memorial for Margaret, and eventually, they arranged a staged reading of one of her three plays, "Mother of Pear."
During the performance, Katie Mattic held everyone spellbound as she remembered Margaret
