In Memory of Valerie Silver Ellis

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I was frotunate to have been a classmate of her bother Steve and an early friend to Val. Willa, Rene and Val and I shared many wonderful hours creating found memories which last a life time. Our Creator has blessed me to have met thousands of people all over the world and it is not often I consider someone as a close friend. It was obvious in these early years that Val would be an influence no matter where she stood or who was fortunate to have met her. She left an early impression of having strong confidence facing life fully no matter the level of fear, always willing to try new things and loved every second of life the Creator blessed her with. It is always sad for me to hear of a friend or loved one passing from our Mother Earth and the news of Val burned deeper our joyous times shared. My tears for Val unkowingly were shared with many people across this earth keeping her impact on us all, alive. Even though we did not keep tabs on one another after TA it only seems like one dream away our times shared. My deepset prayers and thoughts go out to Val especially her closest loved ones. a early friend in life and a brother in christian spirit, Barry

*** Posted by Te Ka Ha Wusale (Two canoes) Barry D. Halbritter on 2011-09-19 ***

Valerie was my Aunt by marriage. I am so thankful to have known her. She was so vibrant, upbeat, smart. I miss her! The day she died I was teaching CPR and studying to become a Chiropractor. It was challenging to stay in school at that time but I did. Today, on the 10 year memorial I was teaching Neurology to doctors. I think she would be proud of me and happy that I am working to spread happiness in the world.

I dedicated the lecture to her.

It is so interesting to read other peoples posts. So many of them did not know her much. But you can see that her personality was so strong and clear that you really did not need long to get to know. She was one of those people who could instantly connect with people.

Truly a one of a kind!

*** Posted by Marc Ellis on 2011-09-11 ***

Val and her entire family are uppermost in my heart today on this 10th anniversary of the awful tragedy. She was a true "bon vivant," whose love for life and hearty laugh were contagious to everyone who came in contact with her. She will forever be missed by all of us who were lucky enough to know her!
Rest in peace, Val

*** Posted by Paul Houmann on 2011-09-11 ***

I did not know Valerie Silver Ellis in life but I very much admire her personality,and her gifts of spirit,intelligence and generosity as portrayed by her family and friends on the memorial sites on the internet. She has touched my life positively because we share the same name and I have often thought of Valerie and her example during the rocky times in my life. On the tragic day my prayers went out to her and her family and they still do.

*** Posted by Valerie Ellis , Georgia on 2011-09-11 ***

Valerie, we miss you and will never forget you... You are the only person I actually knew who died on September 11, 2001, so for me, every year, this is not only about our country but personally about you and all that you mean to your family and friends. God Bless your mother for memorializing you in such a significant way so we can continue to treasure you in a tangible way. Rest in peace away from our wars...

*** Posted by Mary Ann Jones on 2011-09-11 ***

Still miss you Val. Last time we talked was in the Broadway Plaza in Los Angeles. You were just starting your trading career. I remember thinking two things from that day. You were no longer the kid from Central and the odds were way against you in trading. Had it half right. You certainly were not a kid.
Then ten years ago today, when the second plane hit and knowing how bad this was going to be. And then just anger at those who believe in killing civilians is so how religious. Miss you.

*** Posted by Bill Roberts on 2011-09-11 ***

God speed to you and your family

*** Posted by Kitty Fleming on 2011-09-11 ***

Val is on my mind and in my heart today. She was my cousin and I particularly remember the times our families spent together on the Outer Banks and the Jersey Shore. Rest in Peace.  Jill

*** Posted by Jill Sherwood Wolf on 2011-09-09 ***

Thinking of Valerie, my "adopted" 9-11 victim, again on this day. I didn't know her; I only knew people who knew her. But who she was was very vivid to me. R.I.P., Valerie. I still have the button from your memorial and wear it every September 11.

*** Posted by Anastasia Pantsios on 2011-05-02 ***

I did not know Valerie Ellis personally. After 9/11, our newspaper ran short bios for the victims of the attack. Valerie's stood out to me, and I've kept it since then. She is an inspiration to me.

Here's the bio:

"Fixing Shoes"

One of the best Valerie Silver Ellis stories takes place in the early '80s, when she was starting out at Cantor Fitzgerald. A senior trader asked her to take his shoes to be repaired, so Valerie had taps put on the toes and the heels extended to four inches. When the senior trader ordered the upstart young trader to redo the job, Valerie had the shoes bronzed.

"They ended up being friends," said Brian Hull, a friend and former client of Valerie. "She refused to be insulted; she refused to be intimidated. She just worked as hard as she could and she won."

Valerie, a 46-year-old equities trader, worked at Cantor Fitzgerald for 20 years, 18 of those at the World Trade Center.

"Someone said at her memorial that Val collected people," said her husband, Sam Ellis. "She also loved to collect art. We had a place in the Hamptons (on Long Island), and she liked the artists in the area. She loved the beach; she loved her dog, Spudley. She also loved the theater, and we'd often entertain clients by taking them to theater and dinner."

Her friend Brian said, "You never had to see her to know that she was in a room. You just knew her laugh. She always found a reason to laugh."

*** Posted by Kristi Smith on 2010-09-12 ***

When I was a junior at Takoma Academy, Val was a senior. She was the president of the senior class. I hardly knew her, but for some reason, one day, out of the blue, she came up to me in the hall and asked me if I wanted to be the assistant to the editor of the yearbook. She said that if it worked out, I could take over as editor my senior year. She helped me through the experience, and the next year, just as she predicted, I took on the role of editor. It was truly one of the highlights of my high school years.

I still don't know why Valerie chose me. Like I said, I hardly knew her. I can only imagine that she might have asked one of our English teachers, Bruce Freeman or Valerie Landis, or a mutual friend, Willa Sandmeyer, for someone they might recommend and perhaps they gave her my name; nonetheless, I have always been grateful for her willingness to take a chance on me. My memory of her was that she was someone larger than life. I was in awe of her! She was so bold, brave, smart, quick, and sometimes irreverent, but also sensitive, kind, and always upbeat.


Thank you, Val, for giving me that opportunity.

*** Posted by Suzy Nachtsheim on 2009-09-12 ***

Val will always be in my memory as she so sweetly helped the bumbling exchange student I was back in '73....  My thoughts and prayers to her family and loved ones....

JC (from Paris, France)

*** Posted by JC Durbant on 2009-07-07 ***

Val was in the grade ahead of me throughout grade school and high school at Takoma Academy. I spent many good times with her mother while growing up and remember her brother and sister well.

I remember Val as being full of energy and spunk. I don't think she ever thought the world could stop her. I worked the night of 9/10/01 and saw the attacks while at work, only to learn from friends the next day that she had died in the first tower attack. I, too, have a memorial pin and think of Val often. Joan, you and Steve and Beth are often in my thoughts and prayers.

Love,
Karen

*** Posted by Karen Olson on 2009-03-27 ***

Although I didn't know Val very well, I know her family. I still vividly remember her memorial service and all the stories told by her brother and her nephews about "Aunt Wow." I proudly wear my commemorative memorial pin of Val's picture. I put it on each July 4th, (which is her birthday) and on this very solemn of anniversaries. My thoughts and prayers are always with her family and friends and I greatly admire their strength and courage. Val was certainly a hero.

*** Posted by Diane Stoltz on 2007-09-11 ***

I am a Takoma Academy alum who knew Beth, Val's sister, in High School. I spent a few overnight stays at the Silver's home in Takoma Park. While I never met Valerie, she was obviously an exceptional person. I recently attended my 30th High School reunion and saw Beth at the event. I did not know until after she left, that Valerie had perished in the WTC attacks. My condolences to Beth, her mother, and her brother Steve. I can't imagine your pain and your loss. Obviously, Valerie was a talented and beautiful woman who excelled and loved life. Your daughter/sister, truly touched lives while here on Earth, and all she touched was better for knowing her.

*** Posted by Jeannine M. Cordero on 2007-05-02 ***

My first memories of Val are from first grade. We shared walks home from school, lunches, and being teased about our freckles! Val taught me to put on eye makeup, she told me what my parents didn't about sex, we had sleepovers, talks on the phone, and shared a love of tacos. She had a passion for life that was beyond my compreshension. She knew more about life in the 8th grade than I did in the 12th! She was my best friend, and more than any of my childhood friends she influenced who I became. And she never knew it.

I am not surprized at the woman she became, or by the lives that she touched... she changed mine at an early age!

*** Posted by Patti Roberts Aldridge on 2006-09-11 ***

Like so many others I've read comments from, I only knew Val for a little over a year, but the impression she left on me was deep -- and grand. She was a hoot! We had fun, fun, fun, after long weeks of work, work, work. She was such an inspiration to me, and I know I let her down with my own foolish choices then and later, but she, of course, went on to become only more successful -- professionally and personally. That's just how she was. I wish I could call her today and ask her advice (I'm even in her same business now!). What a crime.

*** Posted by Cary on 2006-07-14 ***

My name is Dan and I knew Val from the Hamptons in the mid 80's when I was a kid.  I met her in the summer of 84 when she and Sam shared a summer rental in the Springs with my mom Pam.  Even though I was only 10, we hit it off immmediately; she had such a great sense of humor and we both had a passion for music.  Val was one of the coolest and kindest people I've ever known - she kind of felt to me like that hip young aunt who buys you tickets to a Grateful Dead show against your mother's wishes.  There weren't many kids around the block we stayed on, so Val and Sam became my best friends for those summer weekends, and I have fond memories of going to the beach, riding bikes, and just hanging out listening to 80's pop and rock tunes and joking around with the two of them.  They turned what could have been a boring summer into a good time filled with laughs.  The next summer in 85, Val and Sam bought a house out there and I would ride my bike the 2 miles from my mom's rental and pop in unannounced, and Val never made me feel like I wasn't wanted even if I had come at a bad time.  Unfortunately, I didn't see very much of her after that summer - the last time I saw her was at her place in the Village in 1991 I think it was.  I didn't know she worked at Cantor Fitzgerald, all I knew was she worked somewhere as a trader, so on 9/11 I had no idea she was in the building.  I found out later that night from my mother that Val worked at the top of the north tower and I was stunned and deeply saddened.  I'll never forget Val, she was a great friend for the short time I knew her and a truly remarkable spirit.

*** Posted by Anonymous on 2004-02-12 ***

I am Val's mother and as the 9/11 anniversary nears agqain my thoughts go to her. I should say many of my thoughts each day are of her.  She was a wonderful daughter who loved to do things for her family.  I am so thankful that I spent Labor day weekend with her in 2001 and that was the last time I saw her.  We had such a wonderful time.  She cooked my favorite foods and took me on "adventures".  Things were never dull when Val was around.  I was blessed to have her and Steve and Beth.  God has been good to us and I thank all our friends who have loved and comforted us.

*** Posted by Joan Silver on 2003-09-06 ***

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