9/11 one year later: victims and survivors grieve, remember and raise pointed questions

Ebony, Oct, 2002 by Marsha Gilbert, Kevin Chappell

Then at 9:58 a.m. he was positive he heard the phone ring. He picked it up and his wife, CeeCee Lyles, a flight attendant working on United Airlines Flight 93, told him the plane she was on was being hijacked and that she loved him. Lyles thought his wife was joking about hijackers until he heard passengers screaming and his wife screamed. Then her cell phone went dead.

Lyles sat on the side of the bed, dazed. He wanted to believe the call was a bad dream. He called United Airlines to make sure. The airline representative confirmed that the flight had been hijacked and said that he would be contacted later with any new information.

Lyles called CeeCee's mother, Carrie Ross, his own mother, Jo Hoskins, and others to tell them about his wife's flight.

When he called the police department, the chief sent a victim advocate to his house. The advocate told Lyles about planes crashing into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon that morning. While they watched television reports on the attack, a friend who worked at United called Lyles and told him his wife's flight went down at 10:06 a.m. in Pennsylvania.

Lyles was inconsolable. "I felt like my heart and soul were cut out," Lyle says.

He didn't find out until Saturday when he checked his answering machine that the first time he thought he heard the phone ring it had indeed rung and his wife had left a detailed message. Lyles never listened to that entire message. When he started the tape and heard CeeCee Lyles say, "Hello, Babe. I have something to tell you," Lyles stopped the tape and notified the FBI.

In October, Lyles started seeing a psychologist for depression and anxiety and stayed on short-term disability until March 18. He left the police force April 22 and moved to Tampa, Fla. He plans to work in real estate.

"You have to be focused as a police officer," Lyles says. "There were several occasions when I was taking guns off of people." His sons were afraid he would get killed on the job.

"I thank God every day He didn't leave the kids without a parent," Lyles says. "He's a merciful God."

Lyles has three sons from previous relationships, Justin, 12, Jordan, 10, and Jarrell, 7. CeeCee Lyles had two sons, Jerome Smith, 16, and Jevon Castrillo, 7.

Since CeeCee Lyles' death, Jerome and Jevon have moved to Ft. Pierce, Fla., with CeeCee Lyles' ex-husband, Ademil Castrillo, who usually saw the boys every other weekend during CeeCee's marriage to Lyles.

"He's my partner in raising the boys," Lyles says.

Carrie Ross, who adopted CeeCee at 1 week old, says her faith is helping her deal with her loss.

"I'm not angry with God," Ross says. "We are devout Christians. I'm glad God was there to take her. It had to be in his will."

Ross' sister, Shirley Adderly, CeeCee's birth mother, shares Ross' faith. "Nothing happens without Him allowing it to happen. I miss CeeCee, but I try not to question God."

Lyles, Ross and Adderly all have trouble sleeping and all try to help CeeCee Lyles' children handle the grief. The city government of Ft. Pierce, Fla., where CeeCee grew up, gave Lyles, Ross and Adderly each a key to the city. City officials in Ft. Myers, Fla., where the Lyleses both worked as police officers, dedicated a bench and a memorial brick in CeeCee's honor.