St. Lawrence Class of 1961 names parish street in honor of their classmate who was killed during 9/11 attacks on U.S.

Members of the St. Lawrence School Class of 1961 in Indianapolis gather around a street sign on the parish campus on Sept. 18. Through a school fundraiser auction, class member Betsy Kinne Smith, standing in front of the sign in yellow, won the right to name the sign. On behalf of the class of 1961, she named it for their classmate Lt. Gen. Timothy Maude, the highest ranking officer killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)

By Natalie Hoefer

The street sign stood mysteriously shrouded in a gray plastic covering along the short drive on the campus of St. Lawrence Parish in Indianapolis.

A crowd gathered around, the majority of which were 1961 graduates of St. Lawrence School. Some came from as far away as Canada and Texas to see this street marker.

As the covering was pulled down, a cheer went up as the name on the sign was revealed: “LG Tim Maude Class of ‘61.”

The sign, a gift of the St. Lawrence Class of 1961, honors their classmate, Army Lt. Gen. Timothy J. Maude, who was killed in the terrorist attack on the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.

“He was just one of the sweetest guys in the school,” said Maude’s classmate Betsy Kinne Smith, who won an auction bid to have the sign named for Maude on behalf of the Class of 1961. “He was so easy to get along with. He never argued with anyone. He always did what he was supposed to do.”

The right to name the sign is auctioned off yearly as part of a fundraiser for the St. Lawrence Father Beechem Education Endowment Fund to support the parish school. Thus each year, the short drive located between two structures on the parish campus receives a new name.

“I didn’t care if it was $1,000—I wanted [the sign] this year,” said Kinne Smith, who now lives in Georgia. “This is [the St. Lawrence Class of 1961’s] 50th high school reunion year, so I wanted this to be the year for our class to have the sign for Tim.

“We have such a wonderful class, 1961. We try to give to St. Lawrence whenever we can. When we have reunions, we gather money for the school.”

Kinne Smith recalled learning the news of the death of Maude, the highest ranked officer to die in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“We [classmates] all e-mail each other,” she said. “I shared [the news] with everyone by e-mail, and everybody was just devastated.”

Bob Blagburn, another member of the St. Lawrence Class of 1961, remembered Maude as one who “always had a mission of what he wanted to do.

“But he was kind of quiet, well-mannered.”

That description rings true with Carol Webb, Maude’s sister who lives part of the year in Indianapolis.

“Mom used to say if she put a coat and hat on him, he’d wear it until she took it off,” she said with a laugh. “He was a good kid. He was the kindest, most giving, most caring person. He put everyone ahead of himself.”

Those qualities remained evident throughout his career in the U.S. Army.

“He took care of his soldiers,” Webb said. “He always put them first.”

Shortly after hearing of the attacks, she saw a newscast interview of a person who had rescued people from the burning Pentagon.

“He said he saw a man in uniform in his early 50s badly burned who said, ‘No. Leave me and help the others,’ ” Webb recalled. “I know that had to be Tim.”

Such sacrifices inspire Dean Jessup, mayor of Lawrence, an incorporated city within the boundaries of Indianapolis. He spoke at the sign unveiling.

“I’m happy to be here,” he told The Criterion before the ceremony. “I’m a big fan of veterans. I appreciate everything they’ve done for us—we can’t give back enough.

“And St. Lawrence does so much for this area of our city. One of my pet peeves before I took office was that this city needed a spiritual awakening. We’ve made big strides in that direction, and St. Lawrence has a big part in that.”

After a blessing of the sign and people by Father Thomas Schliessmann, St. Lawrence’s pastor, Mayor Jessup addressed the crowd.

“What a wonderful way to honor the sacrifice that Lt. Gen. Tim Maude made for us,” he said. “The city of Lawrence is very blessed to have very patriotic people. In fact, the city of Lawrence has the fifth highest concentration of veterans in the United States.

“This is just another example of the sacrifices our people are willing to make for the nation we love so much and that God has blessed so richly.” †