Update: On Tuesday, Sept. 1 the town released news about the reading of a proclamation on Sept. 8.

By Andy Brophy

WESTPORT–Susan Blomberg, whose son, Jonathan Uman, was one of two Westport residents who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said the pain of his loss hasn’t receded over the past 25 years.

“I love that young man for life, and I’m not happy every year they have 9/11 on television,” Blomberg, a Wilton resident for 26 years, said in a phone interview. “I hate 9/11 when it comes … I absolutely hate it.”

Recognizing that 9/11 was a deeply traumatic event for many Westporters, beginning Tuesday, Sept. 8, the town of Westport is holding “Four Days of Service and Remembrance” to both remember and honor victims of 9/11.

“Twenty-five years later, September 11 remains a deeply personal day for so many families and communities . . . in Westport,” First Selectman Kevin Christie said. “We remember the lives that were lost, the courage of those who responded, and the extraordinary compassion and sense of common purpose that emerged in the days, weeks and years that followed.”

“This anniversary is an opportunity not only to remember, but to act,” Christie added. “Through our town’s Four Days of Service and Remembrance, I hope Westporters will honor those we lost by serving others, expressing gratitude, and strengthening the connections that make our community special.”

“We will never forget,” Christie said.

Jonathan’s story

In September, 2001, Jonathan Uman had just arrived in Cape Cod for a vacation when an important client of his arrived in New York for an unscheduled meeting, and Uman’s boss called him back to New York and threatened to fire him if he didn’t come, Susan Blomberg said.

The next day, two hijacked airplanes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center, and Uman and his secretary held hands as they jumped from the World Trade Center’s north tower because they were both claustrophobic and didn’t want to burn to death, Blomberg said.

Uman, 33, was a managing director at Cantor Fitzgerald, which occupied the 101st through 105th floors of the north tower.

Blomberg said she learned about the twin towers after she arrived at her job in Stamford and found everyone watching television. “I thought that was so weird,” she said. “If Jonathan had only not come back.”

Blomberg said she learned of her son’s final moments from his secretary’s mother, who had received a phone call from her daughter before she and Uman perished.

Blomberg said her son enjoyed helping others and that Mothers Against Drunk Driving was a non-profit in which he was particularly involved. “He was very interested in MADD; anything he could do to help kids,” she said.

Blomberg said Uman, who left behind a wife and two young children that day, was “unique, charming and incredibly bright” and enjoyed drawing, painting, acting in theatrical dramas, and playing the guitar in a band he had formed. “I have CDs where he’s singing and playing guitar,” she said.

She said she and her son’s friends gathered at his final resting place in Westport every year, shared stories about him and had a meal at Orem’s Diner in Wilton.

“Anybody that met him just adored him,” she said. “I love my son so much.”

Voices Center for Resilience

A staffer at Voices Center for Resilience in New Canaan, formerly known as Voices of September 11th, identified four victims of 9/11 as either residents or former residents of Westport.

Uman and Bradley Vadas, 37, a senior vice president at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in the World Trade Center’s south tower, lived in Westport at the time of their deaths, according to the non-profit.

Brothers Keith Coleman, 34, and Scott Thomas Coleman, 31, lived in Westport before moving to Warren, N.J. and Weston, respectively. The Coleman brothers also worked at Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost 658 employees in the terrorist attacks.

Four Days of Service and Remembrance

The town’s website includes a page that shows residents how they can participate in the “Four Days of Service and Remembrance” through volunteering and donating.

The reading of a Town Proclamation recognizing Four Days of Service and Remembrance will take place on Tuesday at Town Hall at 10 a.m. The public is invited.

The town has also set up an “Online Tribute Wall” that provides residents “an opportunity to share how they are remembering September 11 and honoring those who were lost or who answered the call to serve,” a press release from the first selectman’s office says.

Nearly 3,000 people died on 9/11, with the vast majority (2,753) in Manhattan. But victims of 9/11 also died when a hijacked airplane hit the Pentagon and another hijacked airplane, believed to be headed to the nation’s Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was forced down in Shanksville, Penn. by passengers.

A total of 161 people who lived in Connecticut, or had strong ties to the state, died on 9/11, and their names are read aloud every Sept. 11 at Connecticut’s 9/11 Living Memorial in Sherwood Island State Park in Westport.

Andy Brophy

Andy Brophy is an experienced Fairfield County journalist. Andy was a staff writer at The Connecticut Post for 10 years. He also wrote for the Norwalk Hour, Fairfield Minuteman, Fairfield Patch and weekly newspapers in Westport, Fairfield and Norwalk. When not reporting, Andy enjoys playing chess and listening to pianist Art Tatum. ^_.