Sept. 11 Led To Marriage Proposal

Elizabeth Fox Ohana had just started a master’s program at Columbia University on Sept. 11, 2001.

She would later learn of friends of friends who had died, but at that moment she assumed that because none of her close friends worked downtown, all her loved ones were safe.

She soon learned that her ex-boyfriend, James, was in New York on business and downtown at the time of the attacks. The two, pictured rollerblading in front of the Twin Towers in 1997, hadn’t spoken for months before the attacks.

James called her immediately, and they spent all their time together the following week, while isolated from the rest of the world emotionally and physically. The next week James returned to Israel, where he was living.

He promised to call during his trip.

During a layover in Paris, he stopped in a phone booth, called Elizabeth and proposed.

Today, Elizabeth lives in Winnetka and writes, “As I watch the smiles and enjoy the laughs of my husband and three children, I promise myself to never forget how very lucky I am.”

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Stay tuned to Patch for more coverage of the 10-year anniversary of Sept. 11. Check out ActionAmerica.com if you'd like to tell the country how you're taking positive action in your community post-9/11.