A kindergarten teacher kept a mother’s handwritten note for 24 years before delivering it to the woman’s son in September, 2025.
The mother died on Sept. 11, 2001. Jevon Castrillo received the letter Tuesday from his former teacher Tammy Thurman, WPTV reported. His mother, Cee Cee Ross Lyles, wrote it in March 2001, six months before she died aboard United Flight 93.
The outlet’s reporter Jon Shainman facilitated the delivery after the letter arrived at the television station. Castrillo opened it and read aloud:
“Dear Ms. Thurman, Jevon read a book last night that he brought home from the library. He read it from cover to cover. I told him I would write you a note and tell you what an outstanding job he did. We are very proud of him and will continue to work with him at home. Again thank you for your dedication and courage for the job that you do. Cee Cee Lyles.”
New dad receives 24-year-old letter penned by his hero flight attendant mom shortly before she was killed on 9/11.https://t.co/vPhjMmNGn2 pic.twitter.com/zatpqavnMn
— NYC EMS Watch (@NYCEMSwatch) September 22, 2025
Castrillo teared up while reading. “Very touching,” he said. “It seems very sweet and it seems like something she would definitely say, you know.” (RELATED: Unsealed Letter Reveals Words Of Czechoslovakian President A Few Years Before Nazi Conquest)
Lyles worked as a flight attendant after retiring from the Fort Pierce police force in Florida, the outlet reported. She was among 40 people killed when Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania during the terror attacks.
Thurman saved the letter as she moved through four different schools in Lee County. She arranged a Zoom call with Castrillo and sent him a class photo.
“As a mom, I know you need to see those words from your mom. She was a wonderful woman and you were a wonderful student,” Thurman told him.
Castrillo recently became a father to a 3-month-old, the outlet reported. He thanked both Thurman and Shainman “for both the roles you guys played in getting me this note.”