September 11, 2026

The legacy of a former Wilbraham resident killed on 9/11 lives on through Rick’s Place

REGIONAL
Story and photos by Kathleen Harrington

WILBRAHAM- Rick Thorpe was on the 89^th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Calling his wife, Linda Perry Thorpe, he told her he was okay and that people were being told there was no need to evacuate. He told her to go to a neighbor’s house. Taking 15-month-old baby Alexis, they were with the neighbor when Rick called.

“I’m at her house 20 minutes later, the phone rings,” Perry Thorpe told CNN. “I don’t hear anything. I’m like, Rick, Rick! All I can hear in the background are people screaming.” She said the chaotic sounds continued for ten minutes until it sounded like someone just dropped the phone. “But then I looked on the TV and the building came down,” she said.

The CNN interview was four days after the terrorist attacks. When asked how Alexis was reacting, Perry-Thorpe said, “She doesn’t quite talk. She goes like this looking for her daddy and I just keep saying ‘Daddy’s at work.’ I am wearing a cross of Jesus and have Mary and I give it to her and she kissed it and I say this is for Daddy.”

Alexis was the inspiration for a creating grief support for children. Rick Thorpe’s father reached out to his son’s Wilbraham friends with his idea and the result was Rick’s Place. Since 2007, children, teens, and families have found grief support through the organization. Children gather in age-related groups and through games, art, and books learn they are not alone in their emotions as they process the loss of a loved one.

Betsy Flores is the Rick’s Place program director.

“People can come in and actually breathe a sigh of relief,” Flores explained. “They know when come in this space, whether they talk about their grief or not, people will understand this is part of their life. It’s something they’re trying to make sense of and trying to navigate as a family.”

Recently, Rick’s Place moved into new space at Wilbraham’s Post Office Park. The space in Kid’s Village is much larger. Executive director Therese Ross said the additional space was needed.

 “We’ve had a 25% increase in participation since 2025. We want to make sure we have room for all of the families who benefit from our free peer support program,” she explained.

Thorpe’s death was felt deeply by the Wilbraham community where he grew up. The 1984 Minnechaug Regional High School (MRHS) graduate was remembered Friday morning at the high school as a “great athlete, friend, and servant,” said Stephen Hale, principal of MRHS in his morning address to the school.

“We need to remember the victims, like Rick, the heroes, the first responders. We need to remember how unified the country felt, how that feeling of great loss brought us all closer together,” Hale said.

On the campus are tributes to Thorpe who quarterbacked the football team to an 11-0-0 season in 1983. A display case outside of the cafeteria includes Thorpe’s #3 football jersey, his cleats, and football jacket. Hale encouraged students to pause and look at his uniform and the American flag with the names of all of the 9/11 victims included within the colors of the flag.

There scoreboard at the football field is dedicated to Thorpe. Nearby a rock bears a plaque with this tribute to Thorpe “a school leader who was both an excellent student and outstanding student. May it always serve as a beacon of spirit, hope, achievement, and sportsmanship for all Minnechaug students and as a vivid reminder of a noble man who embodied the true Falcon Spirit.”

The school observed a moment of silence for Rick Thorpe, all the victims, the September 11^th heroes and first responders. Hale told the students the feeling of unity after the terrorist attacks is something the country and even the school needs today.

“As a school, we need to grow in our acceptance and appreciation of every person who walks into this building and love them because they are a fellow human and deserve our respect and empathy,” said Hale.

This story will be featured on an upcoming edition of “Real to Reel,” which temporarily airs Sunday mornings at 6:30 a.m.  on WWLP-22NEWS.