Jessica-Sachs-Obituary

Jessica Sachs

Billerica, Massachusetts

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Billerica, Massachusetts

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Determined to Succeed

Jessica Sachs's schedule since her December graduation from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst was exhausting.

She had accepted a job at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a accountant and was working long hours there. Every Saturday she went to an eight-hour course for the C.P.A. exam. And on Sundays, as usual, she attended services at New Colony Baptist Church in Billerica, Mass.

"She complained," said Stephen Sachs, her father. "But she did well."

Despite the workload, she did not sleep in on Sunday mornings. She had never let church-going slide, even in college. When she realized that UMass, with 26,000 students, had no Southern Baptist ministry, she helped establish Mercy House on campus.

She was equally determined to succeed in worldly terms. She applied for only two jobs, at the first- and second-largest accounting companies, and was offered a place at each. On Sept. 11, she was flying from Boston to Los Angeles on business, her first trip out West.

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on October 8, 2001.


Jessica Sachs, 23, was eight months into her job as an auditor in the Boston office of PricewaterhouseCoopers when she boarded American Airlines Flight 11 on a business trip to Los Angeles.

The post at PricewaterhouseCoopers was her first job since graduating from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst last January.

Her goal since her sophomore year had been to land a job at one of the top five accounting houses in the United States. She ended up having her choice, said her father, Stephen.

"A lot of people today live their lives with a lot of gray area, but for her, it was very black and white," he said. "She was a very determined, very strong young lady."

She also was a devout Christian who counted her mother, Karen, as her best friend, and who lived with her parents in their Billerica, Mass., home 15 minutes north of Boston.

A native of Rhode Island, Sachs grew up in Rochester, Minn., and gravitated to prayer groups as a student at John Marshall High School. In college, she joined Campus Crusade, as well as a small Baptist group establishing a Mercy House to provide Christian fellowship for students at the university.

Since Tuesday, other members of the New Colony Baptist Church in Billerica have filled the Sachs home with flowers and comfort food, while Jessica's parents, her brother Eric and sister Kathy, have all taken comfort in her sunny religious devotion.

"It was just one happy moment after another," her father said. "She wore Jesus on her sleeve, and there was nothing phony about that young lady."

Guest Book

Not sure what to say?

I stopped by your memorial bench yesterday. I didn’t know you but I think of you every time I pass by. ❤

I wish I could hug your family, I'm so sorry that flight was chosen when you called the night before.
I will never forget your friendliness & excitement over taking your first trip west.
My heart is with your family.

We never met. But in 2007 I was in NYC on business. I walked up to the tower water falls for the fist time and your name was the first name I had seen. I wondered your story, how scared you must have been, and who you left behind. Walking into the memorial I came upon the room where they have photos of all the victims. I looked around and my eye caught on a particular photo...it was your photo. It was eary, and peaceful at the same time. I never forgot your name to this day. RIP Jessica

Thinking of your family. You are not forgotten!

I think of Jessica often, especially on the anniversaries of September 11th. I knew Jessica when she was a student at UMASS. I was a volunteer with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and she a vibrant, Christian student. She loved Jesus and sought to follow and serve Him with all of who she was. Dear Stephen and Karen and all of the Sachs family; God Bless you on this 20th remembrance of not just Jessica's death, but the life she lived while here on earth. You are in my thoughts and...

While working as a travel nurse last April in NYC, I took the time to visit the 9/11 memorial. The first name I read was Jessica´s. Ironically, we share the name Leigh. Today, the 20th Anniversary of this tragedy please know that your family is in my prayers! She is not forgotten.

Dear Sachs family,
I worked for Amex Corporate travel, my client was Pricewaterhouse Coopers. On September 10th, the last call I took was Jessica's. She had to change her flight. I remember her being so nice and excited to be on her first trip west. Her infectious laugh & friendliness left me smiling the rest of the evening after I left for the day.
Not a day goes by I don't wish I had put her on a different flight. Not a day goes by I don't wish I could give you all a hug and...

Dear Sachs Family: My name is Kaniatari:io Gilbert. I did not know Jessica very well. We were both at UMass, and lived in the same cluster of buildings (BCG). I used to be a Resident Assistant and Community Development Assistant there. I remember the week of 9/11, after the event. I was watching the news, and they had started to scroll the names of passengers from all of the planes at the bottom of the screen - and I recognized her name even though I did not know her that well and...