Remembering Sonia Puopolo on 9/11

Sonia Mercedes Morales Puopolo sat a mere two seats away from terrorist Mohamed Atta on American Airlines flight 11, the first hijacked plane flown into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

A resident of Dover, Puopolo was on her way to Los Angeles to attend the Latin Grammy Awards. Following her death, her family found some solace in the discovery of her engagement ring in the rubble of Ground Zero, which her husband Dominic had given to her nearly 40 years earlier.

An account of Puopolo's life and the finding of her engagement ring can be read in the book Sonia's Ring: 11 Ways to Heal Your Heart, written by her daughter Tita Puopolo. A supporter of the Democratic party, then-U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton delivered Puopolo's eulogy at her wake at the Trinity Church Boston in Copley Square. Clinton remembered her as a caring, philanthropic woman.

Her favorite charities to give back to included the American Red Cross and the American Cancer Society. Clergy members in Dover will hold a ceremony to recognize the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Sunday at the Dover Town House at 11:15 a.m.