LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Las Vegas community lost a mother, a teacher and a friend in the 9/11 attacks.
On Sept. 11, it will be 20 years since Palo Verde High School students and staff lost their foreign language teacher, Barbara Edwards. She was on the plane that crashed into The Pentagon, killing all 64 people aboard and 125 others inside the building.
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Michele Brown, a counselor at Palo Verde, says Barbara was one of her closest friends.
“Everything she did she did with a passion. She had a love of kids, a love of teaching and it was very well known to all of us,” Brown said.
Brown says what started off as a normal day turned into a terrible sequence of events. They watched as the Twin Towers were hit, then The Pentagon, and hours later the news that hit home for many in our area was unveiled. It was left in the hands of Brown to verify if it was true.
“We had to confirm that and that is what I did," said Brown, recalling the moment she called Barbara's parents the day after the attacks. "My principal asked me to call, and I did, and it was a very painful and brutal phone call, but it was confirmed that she was in the plane that went down into the Pentagon."
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Brown said Barbara made an impact on every student she had. When her colleagues and students found out about her death, Brown says you could feel the emotion throughout the entire school. Barbara left behind a legacy they will always remember.
“She really did love kids," said Brown. "She was very people-oriented, very funny, very friendly, always happy, very bubbly personality. She taught German and she was very direct with kids, but very fun and her kids loved her, her peers loved her. I loved her."
Brown says one of her favorite memories of Barbara was when she dressed up for Halloween as a giant McDonald's french fry.
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She remembers her smile that would light up every room she walked into.
“We lost so many great people that had so much left to do," said Brown. "She mattered. She meant something to us and so did every single person who lost their lives that day and they won’t be forgotten, and she won’t be forgotten."
Friday morning a service was held for Barbara at her memorial located near the soccer fields that were built with the donations the school received from our community.
