Isle victim THE DAUGHTER of a Hawaii Kai woman who died Tuesday aboard a hijacked plane said her mom would not want war to be her legacy.
‘an angel in heaven’
for grandson
A table at a show in the
Blaisdell Center is set up in memory
of Georgine CorriganBy Lisa Asato
lasato@starbulletin.com"She would say, if she could talk to you right now, 'There's a difference between retaliation, defending one's health and what's justified,'" Laura Brough said when she talked with reporters for the first time since the crash at a press conference.
Brough's mother, Georgine Rose Corrigan, died when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a Pennsylvania field. She is one of eight people with Hawaii ties who are missing or confirmed dead in the terrorist attacks.
Asked what she thought the appropriate U.S. response should be, Brough said she was torn.
"As angry as I am about this and feel that we are justified in wanting justice ... and closure, I would be devastated to leave some other child without their mom," she said with her two children and the children's father, Bryan Buck, at her side.
Brough said her two sons, Evan, 6, and Dylan, 4, may be too young to fully grasp what happened to their grandmother. She added that Dylan's teachers say he talks about his grandmother being his angel in heaven.Yesterday, Dylan held a large, red rose necklace that belonged to his grandmother. Brough, wearing rose earrings and a rose-print dress, explained that her mother was crazy about roses and "anything sparkly" like rhinestones.
Corrigan, 56, an antiques and collectibles dealer, was also remembered by friends and colleagues at this weekend's Douglas Trade Show at the Blaisdell Center, where she would have been this weekend.
Colleen Chun, a "very, very dear friend" of Corrigan, remembers her as gregarious and effervescent like Bette Midler.
Chun said Corrigan was on a multiple-city business trip, visiting friends along the way. She said Corrigan was not supposed to be on Flight 93 but decided to take an earlier flight to return in time for the trade show.
A memorial table was set up at the show, and friends wrote tributes to Corrigan in a diary. One said she was in a better place now.
"You liked her; she was easy to talk to," show director Melody Martin said. "She always had time to say a few words. She was real friendly and giving in that way."
Corrigan was a bank teller in Toledo, Ohio, when her charisma convinced a Bank of Hawaii businessman that she had to work for him, Brough said. Corrigan accepted and worked as a traveling teller, filling in wherever she was needed.Her next two jobs -- designing logos for a textile firm and managing Liberty House beauty salons -- arose in a similar fashion, by impressing future bosses.
Corrigan's brother Kevin Marisay introduced her to antiques and collectibles 10 years ago. At one time, Corrigan owned her own shop, Courtyard Antiques, at Kilohana Square.
An artist, Corrigan painted Hawaiian floral prints on Christmas ornaments and drew silhouettes of people.
Brough said the American Red Cross will hold a memorial at the crash site Monday. But, shaken at the thought of leaving her own children motherless, Brough decided against going.
Instead, she had wanted to send 45 lei representing each of the victims aboard, but the lack of flights has made that impossible.
She asked that anyone who can help to call Wes at Paradise Florist in Aiea.
Brough also wanted to her mother's friends, clients and others to know that they could reach the family by writing to: Laura Brough, P.O. Box 25643, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96825.
"I would love to hear ... how they loved my mom and the special things they remembered about her," Brough said. "They can write to us about anything."
Corrigan is also survived by brother Robert Marisay Jr. of Georgia. A memorial service is pending.
