9-11 widow will speak at luncheon Thursday

A woman whose husband was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and later founded a nonprofit organization that provides support to widows in Afghanistan will speak Thursday in Milwaukee.

Susan Retik co-founded Beyond the 11th and was featured in "Beyond Belief," a documentary about two Sept. 11 widows who coped with their grief through humanitarian programs that help Afghan widows. The organization has offered literacy classes, job skills training and microlending to help Afghan women start businesses. Susan's husband, David E. Retik, died aboard American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to crash into the World Trade Center.

Retik, who received the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2010, will speak during a luncheon event at the Pfister Hotel. Tickets are $50.

The event is sponsored by Mount Mary College. Online registration for the luncheon and Retik's speech can be done at mtmary.edu/beyondthe11th.html.

The documentary "Beyond Belief" will be shown at 6 p.m. Friday at Mount Mary College in Room 109 of the Gerhardinger Center. The film is free.