Many Alabama Republicans made their way to Washington, D.C. for the presidential inauguration, and some were impacted by a friendly flight attendant who reminded them to never let anyone dull their smile.
When their flight was being delayed at 5:30 a.m., he was there to help.
The flight attendant’s name was Ian Epstein. He worked for American Airlines, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. Five years ago, he switched careers so he could see the world.
Thursday, the Alabama folks heard his name again, and it was a shocker. Ian Epstein was again at work on a flight to Reagan International Airport. He was working on American Airlines Flight 5342. He was one of about 67 killed when the commercial flight collided with a Black Hawk helicopter.
Janey Whitney of Helena is a Young Republican leader. She saw the news about her new friend Epstein. This was Janey’s post on Facebook Thursday:
Ian was one of the flight attendants on my American flight from earlier this month. He was one of the nicest and funniest people I had ever encountered, and was cracking jokes to make the passengers laugh the entire time (which isn't easy to do on a 5:30am flight). Although I was initially upset about my flight being changed last minute that morning, I'm grateful that it ended up affording me the opportunity to meet him before he passed. He radiated positivity and even ended our flight with a quote about never letting anyone dull your smile. He was a treasure, and I have no doubt that he will be greatly missed by many.Prayers for everyone involved in this tragedy.
Here is the news article about Epstein and the tragedy from his hometown paper, Queen City News.
Janey Whitney is the state secretary of the Young Republican Federation of Alabama. The British Broadcasting Company followed Janey around at the Trump inaugural activities and produced a mini-documentary:
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler writes about Alabama’s people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
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