Hawai'i woman's 9/11 death confirmed
By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
New York authorities have positively identified the remains of Heather Malia Ho, a former Hawai'i resident who was working in the World Trade Center when terrorists struck on Sept. 11.
The information provided by the New York City medical examiner's office produced scientific confirmation of what the family has known since a few days after the attacks.
New York authorities have positively identified the remains of Heather Malia Ho.
"It's been a long time," said Ho's mother, Mary L. Ho, who lives in San Francisco. "But it's a good thing to know."
Ho, 32, was an award-winning pastry chef working at Windows of the World, a prestigious restaurant atop the World Trade Center's north tower.
She was preparing pastry on the 107th floor when one of the hijacked airliners struck.
Ho grew up in Manoa, attended Hanahau'oli and Punahou schools and graduated with honors from Boston University, where she majored in hotel and food management.
She is the daughter of Honolulu business executive Stuart T.K. Ho and granddaughter of the late Honolulu financier and real estate developer Chinn Ho.
Before moving to Manhattan shortly before the Sept. 11 attacks, Ho lived near her mother in San Francisco and worked at the Boulevard restaurant, where her skills as a pastry chief earned her accolades from the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco magazine.
According to the medical examiner's office in New York, the remains of more than 1,200 people have been identified.
Although the mourning process began nearly a year ago for friends and family of the victims, the scientific evidence helps to quell lingering doubts that they may have been unable to set aside.
"We have some closure," Mary Ho said. "I'm sure a lot of families have felt that."
