Mari-rae Sopper Obituary

Mari-rae Sopper attended William Fremd High School in Palatine, IL. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Mari-rae Sopper.

Graduation Year	Class of 1984
Date of Passing	Sep 11, 2001
About	Mari-Rae Sopper Attack Location: AA Flight 77 (Pentagon) Age: 35 Home: Santa Barbara, California The subject line of Mari-Rae Sopper's last e-mail to her family and friends summed it all up. She wrote: "New Job New City New State New Life." That's where the 35-year-old was headed when she boarded American Airlines Flight 77. She was on her way to the University of California at Santa Barbara to the job of her dreams: women's gymnastics coach. She had accepted the post in August, knowing that the school intended to phase out the team after this season. But that didn't deter the tenacious 5-foot-2 gymnast and lawyer. She planned to persuade the school to keep the team alive. "One thing she taught me is, you never settle for less than you're capable of," said Sopper's high school gymnastics coach, Larry Petrillo. He met her 20 years ago on his first day at William Fremd High School in Palatine, Illinois. She was only 15 then, but she was brash. ("Bullheaded," says her mother, Marion Kminek.) Sopper walked into the gym and told Petrillo what he should do to turn around the ailing girls' gymnastics team. Then she helped him do it. She was named an all-American in four events, the school's Athlete of the Year and the state's Outstanding Senior Gymnast of the Year.

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