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ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A sleepy, tree-lined street, in the shadow of the University of Michigan, abounds with well-appointed homes, jerky children and even a cultural and arts center offering yoga classes several times a week.
Nestled in the suburban enclave of North Burns Park, it looks like any easy boulevard in America.
But it's here that lies one of the most tragic figures in modern history of our country – Lisa Bessette, who lost her twin, Lauren, and her sister, Carolyn, on a robbery cursed piloted by John F. Kennedy Jr. 20 years ago, leaving her the only surviving sister.
"I can imagine that this birthday with all that is happening is a very difficult time for her," said an acquaintance of Bessette at The Post, recalling the terrible events of July 16, 1999. "She was devastated."
That fateful evening, the Kennedy scion plunged his Piper Saratoga II into the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. Investigators and experts later cited the lack of experience and the "spatial disorientation" of JFK Jr. as the cause of the accident.
The tragedy led Lisa to a life outside the grid. Even after settling in Ann Arbor, she kept a circle of friends and limited acquaintances. She does not have a known social media account and even recent images of her are almost impossible to find.
Today, she lives a quiet life in the college town, occasionally working part-time at the University of Michigan Art Museum as a "contract writer."
"She lived through a very difficult time when they passed away and was strong for her mother and her family and has since decided that she would not in any way be public," said the acquaintance.
On the day of the tragedy, John Jr. and Carolyn went to the wedding of his cousin Rory Kennedy at Hyannis Port with Lauren. (Lisa was studying at the time at the time and Lauren was going to be in Martha's Vineyard.)
Rush hour traffic jams delayed their takeoff, forcing Kennedy to fly under more dangerous night conditions, while he was allowed to fly the plane only at the airport. using visual cues and not instruments. They went down to the waters off Martha's Vineyard at 21:40. The three men were killed instantly, even though it took five days to find the bodies still attached to their seats.
Death symbolized the end of Camelot; the toddler seen greet the coffin of his own father now himself shot down by tragedy.
He "seemed to belong not only to our family, but to the American family. The whole world knew his name before him, "said his uncle, Senator Edward Kennedy, at a ceremony in memory of the couple at the Church of St. Thomas, in the Upper East Side.
Some 350 people were present that evening, including President Bill Clinton, Muhammad Ali and John Kennedy's sister Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg.
Although Lisa and her parents and stepfather all attended the service, the Kennedy-Bessette relationship sank into acrimony shortly thereafter.
"The family has never been comfortable with marriage. Their mother at the wedding the night before wore a toast where she basically stated that she did not think it was the right wedding for her daughter, "Steven M. Gillon, historian and author of" The Prince Reluctant America: The Life of John F Kennedy Jr., "a new biography, told The Post. "Then of course, their worst fears were realized."
Lisa's surviving family made a bitter profit in 2001 after settling an undue death claim of $ 15 million. Although the exact details are still mysterious, the Post Office announced at the time that this sum would be paid from the estate of Kennedy, left to his sister Caroline and a trust dedicated to his friends and family.
After that, the surviving family made the conscious decision to disappear.
"We never cooperate with the media, no interviews, no questions, and that's always our position," Lisa's stepfather Richard Freeman, now 88, told The Post years.
Lisa Ann Bessette was born on November 5, 1964 in White Plains, New York, daughter of Professor Ann Messina Freeman and William Bessette, who worked for the TNT Kitchen Design Company. William came out of the photo in the middle of a perverse divorce shortly after the girls' birth. Lisa's mother married Richard Freeman, a renowned orthopedic surgeon. The family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut.
When her younger sister, Carolyn, was tied to John Jr. in a small secret ceremony on Cumberland Island, Georgia, in 1996, Lisa was also present. She "was very close to her two sisters," said the acquaintance.
At the time of the 1999 accident, Lisa was in Munich to prepare a PhD in "Renaissance Studies" at the University of Michigan. She completed her academic work in 2005. Although she never got married, she finally started a relationship with Howard Lay, a popular professor from the art history department of Eleven. years.
The pair will not travel to Michigan for the 20th anniversary of the Kennedy crash, but to Paris, where Lay teaches a six-week summer course entitled "Paris by Site".
Even abroad, Lisa is a spectral presence.
"She is in Paris with him," said Michelle Ding, 20, who is taking the course, adding that she had never seen him. "She did not come to my classes. But he talks a lot about it.
In her more than 500-page dissertation on "Visualizing the Contents of the Psalms in the Early Middle Ages," Lisa expressed gratitude to her friends and colleagues who helped her overcome her grief. There was also a cryptic note for the man who would become his life partner.
"A number of people, even though they may not have contributed directly to the project, played a vital role in its completion, after having gone through six very difficult years," he said. she writes in her memoir of thanks.
"Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to Howard Lay for patiently accepting what he could not understand."
Howard Lay has not responded to several emails from The Post. Lisa's representatives at the university refused to offer anything other than to confirm her casual employment at the school's art museum.
Lisa's mother, Ann, 79, still married to Richard Freeman, declined to comment. Lisa's father, William Bessette, 81, has also not answered several calls.
Among her relatives, Lisa's private life is guarded with almost religious zeal. Several staff members and faculty at the University of Michigan reacted with visible hostility to inquiries.
"Are you a journalist? I can not talk to you. You will get the same response from all the members of the department, "Professor Achim Timmermann told The Post. Another faculty member threatened to call the campus police if questions about Lisa regarding staff continued.
His home with Howard, a five-bedroom ivy residence, is a picture of the suburbs. A Volkswagen Golf and a Mini Cooper were parked in the driveway. A bird eater was sitting empty. The shades were drawn. A cat perched on the windowsill. The shrubs and shrubs were neat.
Over the years, Lisa has also done her best to hide her past from new friends and relationships. Most neighbors interviewed by The Post were not aware of the tragedy of his family.
"I spend the night at home in the summer and she never said anything about it," said a woman, Martha, who opened the door from their home.
"They do not meet people," said neighbor Kira Birditt, a research professor at the Institute for Social Research.
"They are a bit silent," she added, noting that the couple were not married and did not seem to have children.
"They make a lot of beautiful gardens, especially Lisa," Margaret Dewar, another neighbor, told The Post. "I crossed it in the factories of the farmer's market."
"She's a good neighbor," Dewar added. "They keep this place. They do not make noisy parties. We have a lot of students who are not like that. They do not call and do not complain.
Lisa's story remains mysterious and, under Ann Arbor's cone of silence, she could be buried forever.
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