Barbara Keating died on 9/11. She’s being laid to rest 25 years later : NPR

As the United States marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11 on Friday, Barbara Keating’s family will hold a private ceremony in Framingham, Massachusetts, to finally lay her to rest.

Keating was traveling back to California after visiting family when American Airlines Flight 11, hijacked by al-Qaida terrorists, crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York. Her remains were identified last year by forensic researchers.

Her son, Paul Keating, shared with NPR that the family plans to celebrate her life. “We carved the headstone 25 years ago, but she wasn’t there, and now she will be,” he expressed, noting that this brings “some closure” to the family.

Recalling the day of the attacks in 2001, Keating said he was on a business trip in New Jersey and witnessed the twin towers burning and collapsing. “Basically everyone stopped what they were doing, we were like across the water from it, watching it,” he said. “At some point, I got a call and found out that that was my mother’s plane.”

Barbara Keating was 72 years old, with five children and 12 grandchildren, and had retired from a career leading a chapter of the children’s advocacy group Big Brothers Big Sisters near Boston. She’ll be laid to rest next to her husband. “She was tough, funny, very smart, she was fabulous,” Keating says.

New York officials report that 40% of the 2,753 people who perished on 9/11 in New York City have yet to be recovered or positively identified. However, teams persist in combing through the rubble and debris from the World Trade Center site.

Keating commended the ongoing efforts to reunite grieving families with the remains of their loved ones, stating, “It just means a lot to comb over miles and miles of city blocks of debris for every day, 60 hours a week for 24 years.”

Efforts continue to locate approximately 1,100 victims of 9/11 who remain unaccounted for in New York City. Dr. Jason Graham, the city’s chief medical examiner, described the endeavor as a “sacred commitment.”