Students at Saint Viator High School opened their day with a prayer for the more than 3,000 victims of 9/11. In particular, they learned about Mary Lenz Wieman, a former AON executive who died in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. The Arlington Heights native had attended Our Lady of the Wayside School, Sacred Heart of Mary High School in Rolling Meadows and the University of Dayton.
Mary Lenz, 1976 graduation photo
However, her life was cut short at the age of 43, leaving her husband, Marc, and their three small children — and her family back in Arlington Heights — devastated. She is not forgotten, and today and every year on the anniversary, she is remembered in Arlington Heights, where she grew up playing clarinet in the band at Our Lady of the Wayside and participated in Girl Scouts, before working on the yearbook in high school and enjoying the Ski Club. She also worked in the concession stands at the former Arlington Park during high school.
Wieman’s parents, Lionel and Marianne Lenz, now live in Barrington and they remain close to their son-in-law and three grandchildren who live out East. They also stay in contact with Weiman’s friends from the area. In fact, earlier this week, seven of her friends from high school visited with the couple and shared memories of their happy years together.
They included: Mary Pat Sweeney Barmantje, Mary Jeanne Cole Fitzgerald, Pat Lamich Fullriede, Tess Prasnikar Horwath, Jan Gallagher Schwellenbach, Julie O’Grady and Kathy Biancardi Cacciato.
“It was wonderful, wonderful,” Marianne Lenz said. “They had so many memories of Mary, some I didn’t even know, that we laughed and laughed.”
Lionel and Marianne Lenz with their daughter’s friends
Today, at the formal commemoration ceremony at Ground Zero in New York, Wieman’s name was read along with the other 3,000 victims, interspersed with six moments of silence.
Her name also is etched in the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York, which stands as a tribute of remembrance and as a monument to human dignity, courage and sacrifice.
Yet, back home in the Northwest suburbs, her memory remains alive in the stories cherished by her friends and parents.
“By sharing stories of Mary and our years together,” said her friend, Julie O’Grady, “I think we all feel like Mary is there with us, enjoying all the memories.”
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