Twenty-three years ago today, Michelle Renee Bratton went to work in the World Trade Center. At 23 years old, she was loving life in New York City, and brightening the lives of everyone lucky enough to know her. Today, we celebrate the life and legacy of an extraordinary young woman.
The BeSDT Sister
In learning about Michelle “Shelly” Bratton, themes repeat. Shelly was bubbly, radiant, like sunshine. Her laugh was contagious; her personality magnetic. She loved to sing, dance, and chauffeur her friends around in her red ragtop Cabriolet. She seemingly did everything effortlessly. Shelly was smart, athletic, and heavily involved in her communities.
As a diver and member of the National Honor Society, she was accepted to a number of colleges. She chose SUNY Oswego to be with her sister, Erin, with whom she was inseparable. They were roommates in Oneida Hall.
“Going into college, she wanted to take on the world,” Erin said, “She knew exactly what she wanted to do.” Shelly joined Sigma Delta Tau, and was immediately in love with her chapter.
Monica Ruiz Lima (Gamma Kappa–SUNY Oswego) was in Michelle’s new member class. The Rho class had twelve women, and Monica and Michelle became fast friends.
“We were sisters,” said Monica. “She was a very happy person, always talking, and always laughing. She had a laugh like the littlest things were the funniest things she ever heard.”
Shelly was a committed sorority sister, Monica said. “She loved our sorority. She wore letters all the time and if she was still here she definitely would have been that sister who was still involved.”
Monica’s younger sister, Leslie-Marie Ruiz (Gamma Kappa–SUNY Oswego) agreed that Shelly would have loved to be an advisor or a national volunteer. Leslie met Shelly when she was fifteen through visits to campus. Shelly convinced Leslie to attend Oswego and join the diving team and Sigma Delta Tau. Shelly was the Assistant New Member Educator for Leslie’s class, along with Monica and a few of their other close friends.
“Anytime she was able to put her letters on, she was the first one there,” said Leslie. “The first picture I have with my letters on is with my sister and Shelly.”
Shelly and the Ruiz sisters were also extremely close to Laurie Barnett (Gamma Kappa–SUNY Oswego), and the Walters sisters, Jeanna (Gamma Kappa–SUNY Oswego) and her younger sister Andrea (Gamma Kappa–SUNY Oswego). All of the memories shared about Shelly’s time at Oswego and beyond includes her SDT sisters.
“They were intertwined,” said Erin. “Their sisterhood was so close, and they were always together. They took care of each other and they loved each other.”
Living Her Best Life
Before graduation in May 2000, Shelly, Monica, and their friends visited Erin in Manhattan. As a result of those visits, Shelly wanted to pursue a life in New York City too.
“She was a wonderful woman, in the prime of her life, just starting out,” said Mary Elizabeth Bratton, Shelly’s mother.
Shelly moved home and commuted into the city. When the economy dipped in late 2000, she started part time graduate work in pursuit of a teaching career. Her ultimate goal was to teach high school history and become a diving coach, but she wanted to work for a few years first. “I told her, ‘You’re so young, Shell. You have your whole life to be a teacher,’” Erin said.
At the same time, Shelly and Erin’s parents were preparing to sell the family home in New York and move to North Carolina in retirement. They moved forward with the sale, so Shelly and Erin decided to get an apartment in Yonkers. Shelly put her courses on hold in pursuit of a new job.
In July 2001, Shelly got a job at eSpeed, a subset of Cantor Fitzgerald in the World Trade Center. Her first day was August 6, 2001.
Through all of the transitions, she easily maintained her friendships with her SDT sisters and spent as much time as she could with them. They loved life together.
Shelly was over the moon to work in the World Trade Center. She shopped for new work clothes and, as recounted by Leslie, told everyone she would be, “In the building with the hat.” Shelly started the job and felt on top of the world in her office high above New York.
Every morning, the close knit group of friends arrived at work and started an email thread. “Someone would message, ‘Good morning!,” Monica said. “We shared about our commute or how we just wanted to be out shopping because it was a nice day, or what we were doing for happy hour at the end of the week.” They made plans for trips and a late-September cruise.
On August 10, 2001, Shelly drove to DC with Monica and Laurie to visit Jeanna and go to a Madonna concert. Monica said their limited view seats were terrible, but they had a great time anyway. Afterward, they went to a club with floors dedicated to different decades, and danced all night. It was the last time the SDT sisters saw each other even though they talked every day.
In late August, Mary Elizabeth and Bill Bratton were prepared to settle on a home in North Carolina when a freak accident resulted in irreparable water damage to the property. On August 20, 2001, rather than leaving the state, Shelly’s parents moved in with her paternal grandparents on Long Island. The weekend before September 11, the Brattons found a development in
Orange County and purchased a home under construction, solidifying their decision to remain in New York. Their closing was set for December 2001.
That same weekend, Mary Elizabeth stayed with Shelly and Erin in Yonkers, helping them unpack their apartment. The sisters drove her back to Long Island on Monday night via the Triborough Bridge.
“There were those 2 towers, bright and shiny, like a diamond in the night,” Mary Elizabeth said. “I said, ‘Which building is your building?’ And [Shelly said], ‘Mom, you see the one with the spike on it? That’s my building and I nearly work at the top.”
When they dropped Mary Elizabeth off, Shelly and Erin were hurrying because Shelly wanted to be at work early the next morning, “They jumped out with me, came in. Hello, hugs, kisses,” said Mary Elizabeth. “They’re running out the door, and I’m like, Hey, wait a minute! Give me a hug and a kiss!”
Mary Elizabeth tapped on Shelly’s window to remind her to buckle her seatbelt. “She looked back at me and [said], ‘Mom! Get a hobby!’” Mary Elizabeth remembered. “I said, ‘You are my hobby. Seatbelt.’ They pulled away and my heart sank.”
September 11, 2001
On September 11, 2001, Erin and Shelly’s alarm didn’t go off.
“The weather was changing, and we could start wearing cardigan sweaters and closed-toe shoes,” Erin said. “Shelly picked out her outfit the night before, and she was so excited to wear these brand new shoes. They were so cute.”
Erin said they hurried out, rushing toward the bus stop. They turned the corner and to their surprise, the express bus was there. Shelly would get to the office early after all.
“We should have missed that bus.” Erin said. “I remember…the wind was blowing, and the sky was so blue, and she was standing at the bus. It was just so weird, because we never did anything separately except that morning.”
Erin said they promised to connect in the email thread when they got to their respective offices.
For Monica, the day ahead meant seeing Shelly’s fancy office for the first time. She was going on a recruiter visit in the business district and planned to meet Shelly afterward. “She said, ‘You have to come up to my office. I have to show you these views. It’s amazing.”
Monica said Shelly’s absence was noticeable on the morning email thread.
At 8:46 a.m., Flight 11 crashed into floors 93-99 of the North Tower. Before the news spread, Shelly called her grandparents’ home on Long Island. The call disconnected before Mary Elizabeth picked up.
Just before 9 a.m. in Midtown, Shelly called Erin’s office. Shelly said the WTC was bombed. She was okay, but got stuck in an elevator somewhere between the 103-105 floors. She climbed out and lost her new shoes and her purse in the process.
Word was beginning to spread around Erin about the crash. “I was so innocent. Nobody had any idea what was going on. I told her, ‘No, no, Shell, you didn’t get bombed. It was a plane. You just climb down the stairs and pull up to Midtown. We’ll get manicures and pedicures.”
Shelly asked Erin to transfer her call to their parents. Erin said she typically would have stayed on the line, but everyone around her was shouting and she was responsible for the team that day because her boss was away. She transferred the call and went to calm people down.
When she turned around, she saw the South Tower get hit by Flight 175 at 9:03 a.m. She said panic was setting in around her. By the time Erin got to her computer, the good morning thread was in panic too; everyone wanted to know if Shelly was safe.
Erin told her friends she spoke to Shelly, who was en route to Midtown to get her nails done to make up for the stress of the morning. Moments later, Erin’s boss called with instructions to evacuate the building. He said New York was under attack.
“I was so naive and thinking, ‘Am I in a dream?’ It was so surreal,” Erin said. She tried to connect with her parents so they could be on the same page about meeting up with Shelly, but calls were no longer connecting. She met some of their mutual SDT friends in the lobby of her work building, and hung a poster telling Shelly to meet her at the Plaza Hotel [where her company was convening].
On Long Island, Mary Elizabeth was marveling over the blue sky and beautiful breeze in the next room when she heard her husband say, “My daughter works in that building! I have to go.”
“Bill [grabbed] my shoulders and he’s holding me, and looks me in the eye, ‘A plane just flew into the World Trade Center.’” Mary Elizabeth said. “I turned the TV on. And this black smoke is billowing out of her building. I remembered she said, ‘I nearly work at the top’ Well, this was nearly at the top.”
Just then, the phone rang again. It was Shelly, transferred from Erin’s call.
“I was lucky in the sense that I got to talk to her,” Mary Elizabeth said. “So I got on the phone…and [Shelly was] monotone, and I could tell she was overcome with smoke. Dying. I fell to my knees screaming [her name].”
Bill spoke to Shelly and encouraged her to remember her life-saving training from being a lifeguard. He told her to stay with the people she was with and keep her face covered.
Mary Elizabeth and Bill told Shelly they loved her, and they were on their way to get her. The call ended. “My body was shaking, and for weeks afterward, I was still shaking like there was a motor inside of me.”
Mary Elizabeth said she was overcome with both panic and prayer when she realized the towers would fall. “I was thinking there was not enough help on Earth to take care of that many people. I turned around, and the first building collapsed.”
The Brattons went to church. Mary Elizabeth said their immediate community was deeply impacted by loss, so the church was flooded with people. Services were held throughout the day to provide comfort to the masses who were looking for ways to cope.
Back in Manhattan, Monica was walking uptown with coworkers. She said they walked a few blocks, stopped into churches to light candles, and continued walking. “We could see the smoke downtown. Everyone was trying to call Shelly but nothing would go through.”
Monica said she was finally able to connect with Laurie, who was in Times Square. Laurie confirmed no one had heard from Shelly. With nothing else to do, Monica walked home to Queens. She said she didn’t sleep at all that night, calling hospitals trying to find her best friend.
At the Plaza Hotel, Erin was surrounded by coworkers trying to help her find Shelly. “I was sitting in a conference room, not able to call my family, with no understanding of where my sister could be,” she said. “It was such an odd, eerie feeling.”
When the Brattons finally connected, they told Erin to meet them on Long Island. Erin wanted to see if Shelly was in Yonkers, but her parents gently told her that Shelly would not be there.
“They told me their last words, and it was a drastic difference from when I spoke to her,” said Erin. “We were laughing and so innocent, not understanding what was really happening or the fear she was really feeling that she wasn’t telling me.”
“We were all in the prime of our lives. We just loved always being together. Every weekend, we were always together, whether it was celebrating people’s weddings, being together in [the city], or going on weekend trips,” Erin said, crying. “We were living the best life, loving each other and loving life. And it was just ripped apart.”
Living For Shelly
Everyone who loves Michelle agreed that the days following September 11 were a blur.
Leslie, who was a senior at Oswego, was in the second round of recruitment with SDT when she heard the news. She left campus for months at a time, needing to be home with Monica and the friends who loved Shelly best.
“She lived her life as if she knew it would be cut short,” Leslie said. “She did everything. She loved everything. She was amazing.”
That joyful spirit and love for life inspired Mary Elizabeth too. Without confirmation about Shelly’s whereabouts in the days after September 11, she was numb. “I couldn’t sleep, but I would just lay in bed, thinking and running everything through my mind. And then it was almost like Shelly said to me, ‘Mom, live for me.’”
“I could just lay there, or I could get up and light the world with her sunshine.”
Mary Elizabeth said helping Erin process her grief was especially hard. When Ground Zero opened to the families, Bill and Mary Elizabeth took Erin to help her face the reality that Shelly was gone, even without physical confirmation.
“There was not anything there that said people worked there or had been there,” Erin said. “It was like walking on the face of the moon. It was so dark, and I remember being there, and [realizing] we had to move forward to memorialize her, even [without a body.]”
On October 20, family and friends gathered to celebrate Shelly’s life at a memorial service. That night, a small crowd was together at the house on Long Island when police arrived to confirm identification of Shelly from Ground Zero.
The next day, they learned the identification was made from a partial jawbone and dental records. “In the midst of the tears and the realization that this was real,” Monica said, “We were also laughing saying, ‘Of course they would find her teeth. She was always smiling and knew how to make the best of any situation.”
“Twenty-three years have passed, but there’s still part of me that is living on September 10, 2001.” said Erin. “It took me five years to process that she wasn’t coming back. She never should have been there. You never think you’ll be the one to experience something like that.”
“I was a different person, and I couldn’t recognize myself.”
In the spirit of Shelly’s dream of becoming a teacher, Erin went back to school to become a school counselor. “I definitely found solace in helping others, and working with kids. I know Shelly nudged me into the field.”
Mary Elizabeth and Bill Bratton moved into their new home on December 23, 2001. To their comfort and surprise, a large percentage of their neighbors suffered similar losses on September 11. Mary Elizabeth said the community supports and loves each other in a special way because of their mutual understanding.
Their street name is Dawn Drive. “And even when it rains, the sun always shines on Dawn Drive because we are living for Shelly,” Mary Elizabeth said.
“Even through our turmoil, a lot of good has come,” said Erin.
Mary Elizabeth said they have all embraced contributing “to the betterment of humanity” in Shelly’s memory. The Brattons started a community foundation in Shelly’s name to provide scholarships to students from Pine Bush High School, Shelly’s alma mater. The annual recipient resembles Shelly in their love of music or athletics, their academic achievement, and their contributions to the community.
Through golf outings, fundraisers, and the generosity of their community, enough money has been raised for the scholarship to exist in perpetuity.
“This is what it is, and we’re living it. We work hard to keep her legacy and her spirit alive,” said Mary Elizabeth. “Michelle never let the grass grow under her feet. She never stopped. She was perpetually in motion for the betterment of the people around her.”
Today, Shelly’s loved ones will engage in different traditions to reflect on her life.
For the Brattons, the tradition is to attend a memorial at Thomas Bull Memorial Park in Orange County where the victims’ names are read aloud. Bill is usually one of the volunteers to read the list. “Somehow, it lightens the day,” said Mary Elizabeth.
For Shelly’s SDT sisters, they share some of her favorite treats: a cold Corona and nacho cheese Doritos. “We’re going to go see a movie with our Coronas and Doritos,” Monica said. “We do it every year.”
“It’s so crazy to think I only knew Shelly for five years,” Monica said. “But knowing Shelly for five minutes was like knowing her for a lifetime, because she didn’t care who you were…She was a super friendly person, and like, just had [the happy, bubbly energy] to draw you in.”
Shelly’s friendliness, joy, and love of life inspire everyone who knew her. “Life is short,” said Leslie. “Just live. Live generously. Have a good time. Be safe, but
live. Have the ice cream for your main course.”
“Good came out of something so horrible,” said Erin. “My story [has become about] the push to do better [through pain.] I wanted to do it in her legacy.”