Born in Manta, Ecuador, Monica Smith lived in Seaford, Long Island, with her husband, Edward. She was pregnant with their first child and had recently renovated their home and set up the baby’s room. Monica worked at the World Trade Center as a mechanical unit secretary for the Port Authority. She loved her job and even met her husband there when he made a sales call to her office. Edward pursued her for two years before she agreed to a date.
Monica had immigrated to the United States with her parents and four brothers. “My wife was the embodiment of the American Dream,” said Smith in a tribute to his wife. He remembers her as “a vivacious, outgoing person who was full of energy. She was the life of the party. At the same time, she was a natural mom to the people around her.”
On Feb. 26, 1993, her last day of work before maternity leave, she was having lunch in the complex’s basement when a bomb exploded in the nearby parking garage. She was 35 years old.
By 9/11 Memorial Staff