06/22/2025
Today we honor SUSAN "SUE" SAUER, who passed away on September 11, 2001.
World Trade Center
AN AVID TRAVELER
Susan Sauer established personal goals, particularly regarding her passion for travel. She resolved to visit 50 countries by the time she reached the age of 50, which was set for November of this year. By her own account, she had already visited 48 countries as of last summer.
She had an itinerary prepared for a trip last fall that would have allowed her to achieve her goal. Her close friend, Clare Doyle, acknowledged that it was possibly the most unconventional itinerary she had ever encountered, but it was effective. Ms. Sauer intended to realize one of her dreams by enrolling in a cooking school in Italy, a country she had previously visited, and then planned to make a brief stop in Hungary, which would mark her 49th country, before concluding her journey in Wales, her 50th destination.
Ms. Doyle playfully questioned whether Wales, being part of the United Kingdom, could legitimately be considered a separate country. However, she noted that Ms. Sauer had visited Czechoslovakia when it was a single nation, suggesting that the calculations were acceptable.
Ms. Sauer, who served as a managing director at Marsh Inc., resided in Chicago and was attending a meeting at the World Trade Center on September 11. She had five nephews, whom she cherished and treated with the affection of a devoted aunt. Recently, she had developed an interest in golf, which she began pursuing a couple of years prior, partly because one of her nephews was attending college on a golf scholarship. She was looking forward to a golf trip to the Dominican Republic this month, and by that time, it was uncertain how many countries she would have visited.
This profile was published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on February 3, 2002.
As a managing director for Marsh Inc., an insurance brokerage division of Marsh and McLennan Cos., Sue Sauer, a resident of Chicago, "was deeply passionate about her work," recalled her colleague Christopher Long.
However, Sauer, 48, originally from Wheaton, had other interests as well. She had a love for travel and hiking, and her Chicago office featured photographs of her set against stunning mountain landscapes.
She enjoyed golfing, engaged in needlepoint, and a few months prior, she had attended the Culinary Institute in Napa Valley. She was enthusiastic about her pursuits.She engaged in needlepoint, and a few months prior, she participated in the Culinary Institute located in Napa Valley. She spent time with her five nephews.
Sauer completed her education at Wheaton Central High School and Illinois State University. She had been employed at Marsh since 1992.
Sauer, who was in Manhattan for a meeting, is among approximately 300 employees of Marsh and McLennan who are unaccounted for following the September 11 attack at the World Trade Center.
"She consistently wore a smile and always upheld a positive demeanor," Long remarked.
Profile provided by THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
๐บ๐ธ SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 โ A DAY WE WILL NEVER FORGET. HONORING THE FALLEN, THE BRAVE, AND THE UNITED SPIRIT OF A NATION. โค๏ธ๐