Honoring the Legacy of Johanna Louise Sigmund ’94 on 9/11

From the Johanna Sigmund Scholarship Committee on September 11

In 2011, then-Springside Head of School Priscilla Sands opened an article in the Chestnut Hill Local with these words: "It was one of those early fall days that takes your breath away. The sun was a brilliant, lemony yellow. The sky was ironically cloudless. Will we ever forget the perfection of a morning that would foreshadow such an unremittingly dark day for our country?"

Those same words—brilliant, sunny, cloudless—could easily describe Johanna herself. Classically beautiful, academically accomplished, professionally qualified, and a dedicated athlete, she radiated a joy that was entirely her own. As a student at Springside, she was a tri-varsity captain in field hockey, squash, and lacrosse, and the school's very first Lion mascot. She earned the Phyllis M. Vare Award twice, the Players Award, the Alumnae Art Award, and the Caroline Susan Jones Award—given by vote of faculty and students to a senior displaying "courage, cheerfulness, fair-mindedness, good sportsmanship, whose influence is widely felt, who has the courage of her own convictions and who is respected by all."

She was the friend who ran the 2000 New York City Marathon, danced without reservation to Janet Jackson and U2, and routinely cooked breakfast for her roommates in their cramped Upper East Side apartment. She was the person who, after witnessing a stranger left bleeding in a Hoboken street, rushed over, cleaned her up, and held her hand in the emergency room.

Twenty-five years ago, in the raw wake of September 11, we didn’t have to pause to figure out how to honor her. When tragedy took Johanna outside her office at One World Trade Center, the loss felt immense, but our course of action was crystal clear. We simply did what Johanna would do; we gathered the community.

Her family and her friends rallied together. That first Thanksgiving, we packed Goats Hollow in Mt. Airy, a room bursting with parents, classmates, teammates, and family. It took all night just to walk from one end of the restaurant to the other because everyone showed up. From that gathering grew an auction at Freeman’s in Center City, launching the Johanna Louise Sigmund ’94 Scholarship Fund at Springside so other young women could benefit in her name from the school she loved and impacted so significantly.  Back then, we never had to ask twice for anything. The instinct to act was effortless because our love for Johanna gave us a direct path forward as we collectively grieved for her, for the nearly 3,000 other souls lost that day, and for the countless families whose world was changed forever. 

Now, a quarter-century later, finding the "right" way to mark this 25th anniversary feels somehow harder. The world has shifted, time has moved on, and sadly we no longer have her father, "Big John," here to offer his steady guidance, having been reunited with Johanna just after the 20th anniversary of 9/11. As her brother, John Jr., reflected, "My father responded to the horror of losing his daughter with the forgiveness and grace that few possess. In living like this after her death, I believe he kept Johanna alive."

Yet, the struggle to structure a single memorial service or anniversary event pales in comparison to a simple truth: the love for Johanna never faded. It isn't reserved just for September 11th or her birthday in June, the milestone 50th she should have celebrated this year.

We carry her with us every day. In quiet moments of memory, walking past her house at the shore where many of us last saw her over Labor Day weekend. In the rhythm of daily life when we see her in the street, picturing her dancing to a song on the radio, or watching a young athlete gearing up for pre-season. In the passage of time, as classmates from Springside, CHA, and Fairfield drop our own children off at college or watch them start their first jobs, realizing they are now closer to the age Johanna will always be. We also see her in the living legacy she built through the scholarship fund, which has now raised over $972,000 from more than 2,200 donors. Young women whose lives and education at SCH are directly made possible by her memory carry a piece of Johanna’s brilliant spirit into the future. As her mother Ruth has shared, "By helping with this scholarship, we are developing a future. We are developing a legacy."

Priscilla Sands asked a question that was perhaps meant to be rhetorical: Will we ever forget?

Twenty-five years ago, we knew exactly what to do to ensure the answer was no. Today, honoring her doesn't require a grand new gesture, because her spirit is already woven into who we are. We honor her quarter-century absence by living out the energy, kindness, faith, and fierce sense of community she taught us.

We remember the girl in the red coat exploring Paris, the teammate who gave everything on the field, and the friend who held a stranger's hand. By choosing love, showing up for one another, and continuing to support the young women who walk the halls of SCH in her name, we make sure the world never forgets.

Warmly,

The Johanna Sigmund Scholarship Committee

The Johanna Sigmund ’94 Scholarship

Twenty-five years after the loss of Johanna Sigmund ’94 on September 11, 2001, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy is deeply grateful to the Sigmund family and the members of the Johanna Sigmund Scholarship Committee, whose love for Johanna and commitment to her memory created an extraordinary and enduring legacy.