Purse, Recovered
- Description
- Recovered black fabric purse with a leopard-patterned interior lining belonging to Patricia Mary Fagan. The purse is significantly damaged with encrusted dust and warped from exposure to the elements. The purse handle appears to have a piece of clear strapping tape attached to it. Inside the purse were tubes of lipstick, eyeglasses, identification cards, and other personal items.
- Historical Notes
- Manhattan native Patricia Mary Fagan lived in Toms River, New Jersey, with her sister and their father. A gregarious person who struck up conversations wherever she went, Patricia served as a greeter at her church’s Saturday night Mass. An assistant vice president at Aon Corporation, Patricia was at work on September 11, on the 98th floor of the South Tower. She was 55 years old.
Curator's Comment
Patricia Fagan was at work on the 98th floor of the South Tower when hijacked Flight 175 struck the building. Months later, the New York City Police Department’s World Trade Center Property Recovery Unit returned this purse to her sister, Eileen Fagan. Although damaged, the contents of the purse, including a pair of reading glasses, two tubes of lipstick, rosary beads, a prayer card dedicated to St. Jude, St. Anthony’s prayer beads, and more than $160 in cash, were surprisingly clean and mostly intact.
- Accession Number: C.2008.866.2
- Dimensions: 15.5 in X 11 in X 2 in
- Dimensions (Metric): 39.37 cm X 27.94 cm X 5.08 cm
- Source: Eileen Fagan
- Credit Line: Gift of Eileen A. Fagan, sister of Patricia Mary Fagan
All materials made publicly available by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum on this site are intended for research and educational use only. Users may need to obtain other permissions for their intended use(s) and are responsible for determining copyright status and securing these permissions.
To inquire about copyrights and reproductions, contact: xxx@911memorial.org
;
