Plane crash that killed Greenwich sisters, JFK Jr. remembered 10 years later - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

DLevine2 · 07-12-2009, 12:31 PM

Ten years ago this week, as people across the country mourned the latest loss in a revered political family, Greenwich was dealt a triple blow.

Only a few short years before, John F. Kennedy Jr.'s marriage to Greenwich girl Carolyn Bessette had fascinated the world. Now town residents' remembrances of their popular, beautiful friend and classmate were tinged with tragedy.

On the hazy night of July 16, 1999, Kennedy was flying with his 33-year-old wife and her older sister Lauren Bessette in his new single-engine Piper Saratoga plane up to Martha's Vineyard, Mass., when it crashed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Kennedy had planned to drop his sister-in-law off in Martha's Vineyard, and then continue on to Hyannis Port, Mass., to attend the wedding of his cousin Rory.

Current and former town residents recalled the shock that was felt, as well as the media circus that ensued.

One morning soon after, Robert Cardini had been planning to meet up with a friend to play golf in nearby Brewster, N.Y., when he heard that his former classmate had likely perished at sea. Cardini had attended what was then called Central Junior High School with Carolyn Bessette, before she went on to graduate from the old St. Mary High School, now Greenwich Catholic School, in 1983. Later that day, Cardini, now 44 and living in Stamford, left a bouquet of flowers at St. Michael Church, which shares a campus with the North Street school.

"Every day I drive by that church,"

said Cardini, operations manager for the Ceci Brothers landscaping company in Greenwich. "I pretty much routinely throughout the years have always thought about it."

The Bessette sisters' mother and stepfather, Ann Marie and Richard Freeman, asked for privacy as reporters flocked to their Old Greenwich home in the days following the crash. They continue to prefer not to talk about their daughters, declining a request for an interview for this story.

Grant Stinchfield, a family friend and TV reporter who at the time acted as a spokesman for the family, also declined to comment out of respect for the family.

The girls, who grew up in town and were only 18 months apart in age, were well-liked by their classmates at Central Junior High. Lauren, who had a twin sister, Lisa, graduated from Greenwich High School in 1982. After studying economics, political science and psychology at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y., she embarked on a career as a financial analyst for what was then called Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.

Before her romance with the man once dubbed the "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine, Carolyn Bessette majored in elementary education at Boston University, then moved to New York City to work as a public relations associate with Calvin Klein.

Less than a week after the plane went down, Kennedy's and the sisters' remains were scattered at sea not far from the crash site. A couple of days later, Christ Church Greenwich drew many from the Kennedy clan for an invitation-only memorial service for the Bessette sisters.

Hugh Tudor-Foley, at the time the assistant to the rector at Christ Church Greenwich, recalls meeting with the girls' mother.

"They knew there would be a separate service in the city for John Jr.," remembers Tudor-Foley, 68, now interim rector at Church of the Good Shepherd in Hemet, Calif. "They wanted this to be one where the girls were remembered, where it would be a dignified service."

The members of the news media, who spent hours around the church waiting for glimpses of members of the Kennedy family -- including John Jr.'s uncle, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, sister Caroline and several cousins -- among the 500 mourners, presented a challenge, recalls Jeffrey Walker, the parish's former pastor.

"One reporter showed up at the rectory, where I lived, at around 7 in the morning," Walker recalled in an e-mail. "They parked their trucks, between nine and 13 of them, in our backyard.

"One day, my wife had to put me onto the floor of her car, and drive me across the street to the church so that I could get there without being asked questions I couldn't answer. It was bizarre, and not the kind of thing one is trained for at seminary."

The grief was shared among the town's residents. Tom Ragland, first selectman at the time, remembers most people were devastated.

"Here is a wonderful, beautiful young couple that all of a sudden disappears from the earth," said Ragland, 74, whose wife had known the Bessettes' mother. "That was a shock to everyone."

Many wondered why Kennedy, who didn't have a lot of flying experience, chose to take such a difficult trip.

"We go to Nantucket a lot, and I know the weather up there can kind of turn in five minutes," Ragland said. "We all walked around numb for several days thinking, 'Why did that happen?'"

TripperFan · 07-12-2009, 12:52 PM

That had to be one of the most "useless" tragedies of our times. Why he felt he couldn't wait a bit until the conditions were better we'll never know. Sad.

browneyes106 · 07-12-2009, 01:57 PM

^ I agree it could have been prevented.

MickeyMac · 07-12-2009, 02:56 PM

JFK Jr. was one of the good Kennedys who managed to avoid all the scandals that his cousins and uncle Ted seem to run towards. Even Ann Coulter liked JFK Jr. and that is saying alot.

It was a sad day indeed because he seemed to have a bright and limitless future ahead of him.

Janice · 07-12-2009, 04:16 PM

Unreal that it's been 10 years. I remember it like it was yesterday. My husband was so sad. He loved JFK Sr.

TVFactFan · 07-12-2009, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janice

Unreal that it's been 10 years. I remember it like it was yesterday. My husband was so sad. He loved JFK Sr.

I remember it like it was yesterday too. I remekber waking up on a saturday morning and seeing the coverage of his search on CNN labeled breaking news

catlover79 · 07-12-2009, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janice

Unreal that it's been 10 years. I remember it like it was yesterday. My husband was so sad. He loved JFK Sr.

I know what you mean - it feels unreal that 10 years have passed. God bless both the Kennedy and Bessette families at this difficult time.

catlover79 · 07-12-2009, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickeyMac

JFK Jr. was one of the good Kennedys who managed to avoid all the scandals that his cousins and uncle Ted seem to run towards. Even Ann Coulter liked JFK Jr. and that is saying alot.

It was a sad day indeed because he seemed to have a bright and limitless future ahead of him.

Yes - and supposedly he and Carolyn were getting ready to start a family as well.

TJL · 07-12-2009, 08:24 PM

I can't believe it's been ten years too. New York City took his death pretty hard.

browneyes106 · 07-12-2009, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickeyMac

JFK Jr. was one of the good Kennedys who managed to avoid all the scandals that his cousins and uncle Ted seem to run towards. Even Ann Coulter liked JFK Jr. and that is saying alot.

It was a sad day indeed because he seemed to have a bright and limitless future ahead of him.

I agree a lot of people have said that he was a very good man. I was could tell that he was very a good person. He would get mad at the paparrazzis' at times. But I don't blame him for being mad. I remember seeing tv special on him were this woman who worked at restaurant that he frequented said that one time another customer left behind his wallet and John got the wallet and ran out and gave it to him.

Schmoopie · 07-14-2009, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by browneyes106

this woman who worked at restaurant that he frequented said that one time another customer left behind his wallet and John got the wallet and ran out and gave it to him.

Now that's classy! Can you imagine? I would die if a celebrity handed me my wallet outside of a restaurant! He seemed like a nice guy. I was beyond shocked when this happened. In fact, I think I was in as much denial as the family was. I remember just "knowing" that they would find everyone alive.

I remember Ted/Edward Kennedy making the rescue crews scour the sea until they found the bodies. No way was he going to accept the deaths without proof.

Such a sad, sad story. He was so gorgeous and she was so beautiful. So was her sister. Hard to believe it has been 10 years already.

Andrea

DLevine2 · 07-16-2009, 12:30 PM

It's hard to believe its been ten years ago since his death. It's very sad when he passed away.

MrCleveland · 07-16-2009, 03:58 PM

John-John wasn't even 40 when his plane crashed.

TripperFan · 07-17-2009, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCleveland

John-John wasn't even 40 when his plane crashed.

Geez, now I do feel old!!!

Janice · 07-17-2009, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pus$y Galore

That had to be one of the most "useless" tragedies of our times. Why he felt he couldn't wait a bit until the conditions were better we'll never know. Sad.

I don't remember all the details, but it also had something to do with the fact that he wasn't fully trained for night flying. He made some fatal mistakes for which he paid the ultimate price. The parents of the Bessette sisters successfully sued the Kennedy estate for wrongful death(s). Imagine losing two daughters. Dear God.

07-12-2009, 12:31 PM	#1
DLevine2 DLevine2 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 06, 2006 Location: Fayetteville, Ga. Posts: 2,961	Plane crash that killed Greenwich sisters, JFK Jr. remembered 10 years later Ten years ago this week, as people across the country mourned the latest loss in a revered political family, Greenwich was dealt a triple blow. Only a few short years before, John F. Kennedy Jr.'s marriage to Greenwich girl Carolyn Bessette had fascinated the world. Now town residents' remembrances of their popular, beautiful friend and classmate were tinged with tragedy. On the hazy night of July 16, 1999, Kennedy was flying with his 33-year-old wife and her older sister Lauren Bessette in his new single-engine Piper Saratoga plane up to Martha's Vineyard, Mass., when it crashed in the Atlantic Ocean. Kennedy had planned to drop his sister-in-law off in Martha's Vineyard, and then continue on to Hyannis Port, Mass., to attend the wedding of his cousin Rory. Current and former town residents recalled the shock that was felt, as well as the media circus that ensued. One morning soon after, Robert Cardini had been planning to meet up with a friend to play golf in nearby Brewster, N.Y., when he heard that his former classmate had likely perished at sea. Cardini had attended what was then called Central Junior High School with Carolyn Bessette, before she went on to graduate from the old St. Mary High School, now Greenwich Catholic School, in 1983. Later that day, Cardini, now 44 and living in Stamford, left a bouquet of flowers at St. Michael Church, which shares a campus with the North Street school. "Every day I drive by that church," said Cardini, operations manager for the Ceci Brothers landscaping company in Greenwich. "I pretty much routinely throughout the years have always thought about it." The Bessette sisters' mother and stepfather, Ann Marie and Richard Freeman, asked for privacy as reporters flocked to their Old Greenwich home in the days following the crash. They continue to prefer not to talk about their daughters, declining a request for an interview for this story. Grant Stinchfield, a family friend and TV reporter who at the time acted as a spokesman for the family, also declined to comment out of respect for the family. The girls, who grew up in town and were only 18 months apart in age, were well-liked by their classmates at Central Junior High. Lauren, who had a twin sister, Lisa, graduated from Greenwich High School in 1982. After studying economics, political science and psychology at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y., she embarked on a career as a financial analyst for what was then called Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. Before her romance with the man once dubbed the "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine, Carolyn Bessette majored in elementary education at Boston University, then moved to New York City to work as a public relations associate with Calvin Klein. Less than a week after the plane went down, Kennedy's and the sisters' remains were scattered at sea not far from the crash site. A couple of days later, Christ Church Greenwich drew many from the Kennedy clan for an invitation-only memorial service for the Bessette sisters. Hugh Tudor-Foley, at the time the assistant to the rector at Christ Church Greenwich, recalls meeting with the girls' mother. "They knew there would be a separate service in the city for John Jr.," remembers Tudor-Foley, 68, now interim rector at Church of the Good Shepherd in Hemet, Calif. "They wanted this to be one where the girls were remembered, where it would be a dignified service." The members of the news media, who spent hours around the church waiting for glimpses of members of the Kennedy family -- including John Jr.'s uncle, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, sister Caroline and several cousins -- among the 500 mourners, presented a challenge, recalls Jeffrey Walker, the parish's former pastor. "One reporter showed up at the rectory, where I lived, at around 7 in the morning," Walker recalled in an e-mail. "They parked their trucks, between nine and 13 of them, in our backyard. "One day, my wife had to put me onto the floor of her car, and drive me across the street to the church so that I could get there without being asked questions I couldn't answer. It was bizarre, and not the kind of thing one is trained for at seminary." The grief was shared among the town's residents. Tom Ragland, first selectman at the time, remembers most people were devastated. "Here is a wonderful, beautiful young couple that all of a sudden disappears from the earth," said Ragland, 74, whose wife had known the Bessettes' mother. "That was a shock to everyone." Many wondered why Kennedy, who didn't have a lot of flying experience, chose to take such a difficult trip. "We go to Nantucket a lot, and I know the weather up there can kind of turn in five minutes," Ragland said. "We all walked around numb for several days thinking, 'Why did that happen?'"

07-12-2009, 12:52 PM	#2
TripperFan In God's Arms Now Forum Star Join Date: Sep 14, 2003 Location: Heartbreak Ridge Posts: 12,086	That had to be one of the most "useless" tragedies of our times. Why he felt he couldn't wait a bit until the conditions were better we'll never know. Sad.
	__________________ If I don't see you in this world, I'll meet you in the next one.....don't be late James Marshall Hendrix Voodoo Chile The Forum Legend formerly known as TripperFan "religion is for people who are afraid of hell--spirituality is for people who have been through hell"---anonymous

07-12-2009, 08:24 PM	#9
TJL Suburbanite Extrordinaire Forum Star Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: New Jersey - the cradle of civilization Posts: 16,588	I can't believe it's been ten years too. New York City took his death pretty hard.
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07-16-2009, 03:58 PM	#13
MrCleveland Drew Carey from Hell Forum Star Join Date: Nov 10, 2007 Location: The City of Cleveland, in The State of Cleveland, in The United States of Cleveland Posts: 14,226	John-John wasn't even 40 when his plane crashed.
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07-12-2009, 01:57 PM	#3
browneyes106 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 01, 2008 Posts: 6,094	^ I agree it could have been prevented.

07-12-2009, 02:56 PM	#4
MickeyMac Member Forum Star Join Date: Jun 18, 2008 Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan Posts: 19,006	JFK Jr. was one of the good Kennedys who managed to avoid all the scandals that his cousins and uncle Ted seem to run towards. Even Ann Coulter liked JFK Jr. and that is saying alot. It was a sad day indeed because he seemed to have a bright and limitless future ahead of him.

07-12-2009, 04:16 PM	#5
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	Unreal that it's been 10 years. I remember it like it was yesterday. My husband was so sad. He loved JFK Sr.

07-16-2009, 12:30 PM	#12
DLevine2 DLevine2 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 06, 2006 Location: Fayetteville, Ga. Posts: 2,961	It's hard to believe its been ten years ago since his death. It's very sad when he passed away.