FORT PIERCE, Fla. — For most of his life, Jevon Castrillo has carried only fragments of memories of his mother. He was just a child when CeeCee Lyles, a flight attendant on United Airlines Flight 93, was killed during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Now 30 and a new father himself, Castrillo recently received a gift that brought his mother’s words back to him in her own handwriting.
His former kindergarten teacher, Tammy Thurman, had held onto a letter Lyles wrote in March 2001. In it, she praised her son’s growing love for reading.
“Jevon read a book last night that he brought home from the library. He read it from cover to cover… We are very proud of him and will continue to work with him at home,” Lyles wrote.
When Thurman finally delivered the note, Castrillo choked up reading it aloud. “It felt like something she would definitely say,” he told WPTV.
Who was CeeCee Lyles?
Lyles, 33, was a retired police officer from Fort Pierce, Florida, who had recently begun working as a flight attendant. She was among the 40 passengers and crew killed on Flight 93 when al-Qaeda hijackers attempted to crash the plane into Washington, D.C.
Today, a statue honoring her stands in her hometown, where Castrillo still lives.
A mother’s final calls
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Lyles left a voicemail for her husband after terrorists seized control of Flight 93.
“They’ve hijacked the plane… I hope to be able to see your face again, baby. I love you,” she said, according to the 9/11 Memorial.
She later managed to reach him directly. Calm but resolute, she described how passengers and crew were preparing to fight back. They considered throwing boiling water at the attackers. Before hanging up, she prayed with her husband and said: “We’re getting ready to do it now. It’s happening!”
Minutes later, at 10:03 a.m., the plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field. Investigators believe the hijackers intended to strike either the U.S. Capitol or the White House. The passengers’ resistance stopped them.
The legacy of Flight 93
While two planes destroyed the Twin Towers and another struck the Pentagon, Flight 93 is sometimes remembered less often. Yet its passengers’ actions likely prevented even greater tragedy.
One of them, Todd Beamer, is remembered for his final rallying cry over an air phone: “Are you guys ready? Okay. Let’s roll!”
For Castrillo, his mother’s courage is part of that legacy. But the rediscovered letter reminds him she was more than a hero of 9/11—she was a parent celebrating her young son’s love of books.
“As a mom, I know you need to see those words from your mom,” Thurman told him as she handed over the note. “She was a wonderful woman and you were a wonderful student.”
