Jeff Coombs, Abington Man Killed On 9/11, Honored With Final Memorial Road Race
ABINGTON (CBS) -- The Jeff Coombs Memorial Foundation hosted its 20th and final Memorial Road Race, Walk and Family Day in his honor on Sunday in Abington.
The event was founded in memory of Jeff Coombs, an Abington husband and father of three who was killed in the terrorist attacks on September 11. He was aboard American Airlines Flight 11 when it crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
The yearly event pays tribute those who lost their lives on 9/11 and troops who fought in wars after the terrorist attacks. This year, it also honored the essential workers for their role in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 5K event featured free food, music and raffles, along with other free activities like face painting, caricatures, cookie decorating, bounce houses, and more.
Jeff's widow, Christie, was among the roughly 1,200 people who participated in the road race.
"We come together as a community, a very vast community, to remember together and to pay tribute to Jeff and all those others who died on 9/11, as well as service members who died as a result of their service, post 9/11," said Christie Coombs.
She added that after 20 years of doing the event, she felt it was time.
"It had to end at some point. We re-evaluated every five years and just decided at 15 that 20 would be the time. And we wanted to go out while we were still on top."
The money raised benefited the Jeff Coombs Memorial Foundation, which assists military families through grants and special programs and provides enrichment programs in the local schools and scholarships for Abington High graduates.
The foundation has raised over $1 million since 2001.
