Among the lost: Victims included CEO, researcher
JEFF MLADENIK, 43, of Hinsdale, Ill., interim chief executive officer of eLogic, was on American Airlines Flight 11. Mladenik, an associate pastor of Christ Church in Oak Brook, Ill., frequently traveled from Boston to Los Angeles on business. "He used his airplane time as his Bible time," said Bill Girignani, a Chicago lawyer who knew Mladenik. "And I'm sure Jeff would have had that Bible open when the plane was being hijacked and he would have been talking to those other passengers and praying with them." Mladenik taught classes at the church. "I can guarantee he would tell us that hatred and bitterness must not have the last word," Christ Church Pastor Daniel Meyer said. Mladenik's survivors include his wife, Sue, and four children.
JACK D'AMBROSI JR., 45, of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., was vice president of operations for Cantor Fitzgerald and worked on the 103rd floor of one of the World Trade Center towers. His wife, Karen, said she was worried when he took the job that he wouldn't be able to easily exit the center in case of a fire. "He said, 'You can't live your life in a negative state and fear of things,' " she said. Judy Buono, a friend of the family whose husband drove into the city with D'Ambrosi every day, said that "the minute you met him, you loved him." D'Ambrosi is survived by his wife, two daughters, father, sister and brother.
JEFFREY COLLMAN, 41, of Novato, Calif., was a flight attendant on American Flight 11. His partner, Keith Bradkowski, said Collman was courageous and safety-conscious. "He was so focused on safety," Bradkowski said. "If there was a threat, he would have done anything in his power to prevent it." He didn't normally work the Boston-to-Los Angeles route but made an exception to get vacation time at the end of the month. Collman grew up in Yorkville, Ill., and besides Bradkowski left behind four brothers and a sister.
DORA MENCHACA, 45, of Santa Monica, Calif., associate director of clinical research for biotech firm Amgen, was aboard American Flight 77. She had been in Washington, D.C., to meet with the Food and Drug Administration about a new drug to treat prostate cancer. "The one thing I'm going to remember about her is that she urged every man working here to get his prostate checked. She cared," said David Goodkin, vice president of clinical research for Amgen. Menchaca's survivors include her husband, son and daughter.
SANDRA TEAGUE, 31, of Fairfax, Va., a physical therapist at Georgetown University Hospital, was a passenger on American Flight 77. She was on her way to a vacation in Australia, friends said. Teague had moved to the Washington area from West Des Moines, Iowa, last year and was a "rising star" at the hospital, said Meris Chang, its director of physical medicine and rehabilitation.