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Gretchen Joyce Dater Family Collection

An inventory of the collection at the Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives at Syracuse University

Summary

Creator: Dater family.
Title: Gretchen Joyce Dater Family Collection
Dates: 1988-2014
Size: 23 linear feet
Abstract: Clippings, memorabilia, correspondence, and various subject files related to Gretchen Joyce Dater, one of the 35 students killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 while returning from studying abroad through Syracuse University's Division of International Programs Abroad (DIPA), as well as materials related to the aftermath of the bombing
Language: English
Repository: Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives
Syracuse University Libraries
222 Waverly Ave., Suite 600
Syracuse, NY 13244-2010
https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center/pan-am-103

Biography

Photograph of Gretchen Joyce Dater

Gretchen Joyce Dater (1968-1988) was among the 270 victims of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988. Gretchen was a junior at the Maryland Institute College of Art working toward her degree in fine arts. She had just completed a study abroad program in London through Syracuse University's Division of International Programs Abroad (DIPA). She hoped to study art education in graduate school, and wanted to teach art at the elementary-school level. Gretchen lived in Ramsey, New Jersey with her parents, Tom and Joan, and her brother, Christopher.

Similar to those she hoped to teach, Gretchen showed artistic talent at a young age. During her third year of high school, Gretchen spent Saturdays at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and most of one summer at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, studying graphic and general art in preparation for her career. During her years at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, her skill at drawing and painting increased steadily. Her last months were spent studying master works in museums and galleries in London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Florence. Along the way, she visited Munich, Dachau, and Salzburg where she realized her dream of visiting the setting for The Sound of Music.

An acrylic painting, signed by Gretchen, was found among the wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103 in Lockerbie, Scotland. The painting, which Gretchen was never able to finish, has since been restored and framed; it shows a sky scene of London. Her mother titled it "Unfinished Business," and it has been the focal point of several art exhibitions.

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Scope and Content Note

The Gretchen Joyce Dater Family Collection contains clippings, memorabilia, correspondence, and various subject files related to Gretchen Joyce Dater, one of the 35 students killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 while returning from studying abroad through Syracuse University's Division of International Programs Abroad (DIPA), as well as materials related to the aftermath of the bombing such as the trial, and the Arlington Memorial Cairn. The collection has been divided into the following series:

Clippings contains materials the Dater family collected from newspapers and magazines on various topics including the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, Libya, other bombings and attacks on civil aviation, as well as aviation security and safety. This series is arranged in chronological order and also by topic.

Correspondence includes letters and cards sent to and by the Dater family. Materials are separated by corporation or office when significant, and are otherwise filed in chronological order under general correspondence.

Memorials contains the personal notes, pamphlets, programs, and other printed material from services, organizations, and places of remembrance dedicated to the victims of Pan Am Flight 103 and the Dater family.

Subject files contains papers, government documents and physical memorabilia collected by the Dater family as it relates to the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and the loss of Gretchen.

Trials and testimonies includes notes and official documents regarding Libya, Pan Am and related legal proceedings.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions for this collection.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from the Pan Am Flight 103 Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Related Material

TruthQuest newsletters and other materials related to the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc. have been separated and placed in the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc. Collection.

United States Department of State and Fatal Accident Inquiry publications have been separated and placed in the Pan Am Flight 103 Publications Collection.

The Pan Am Flight 103 Archives contains additional materials and information related to the Gretchen Joyce Dater Family Collection. Related collections include:

On Eagles' Wings Collection

Pan Am 103 Individuals Collection

Remembrance Quilt Collection

Tom Foster Papers

Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc. Collection

Pan Am Flight 103 Publications Collection

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Selected Search Terms

Names

Dater family.
Dater, Gretchen Joyce.
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.

Subjects

Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing Incident, 1988.
Terrorism -- Government Policy -- United States -- Case Studies.
Terrorism -- Government Policy -- United States -- History.
Terrorism -- Government Policy -- United States.
Terrorism -- History -- 20th Century.
Lockerbie (Scotland)

Types of material

Clippings files.
Correspondence.
Memorabilia.
Posters.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Gretchen Joyce Dater Family Collection,
Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Tom and Joan Dater between 2004 and 2013, and Mary Kay Stratis in 2016.

Processing Information

Materials were rehoused in acid-free folders and boxes. Select clippings were photocopied.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: Vanessa L. St.Oegger-Menn, Samantha A. Mairson
Date: March 2015
Revision history: July 2017 - Inventory added, minor update of details (SAM); July 2018 - Stylistic changes (VSOM); February 2024 - Posters relocated to Oversize 2 (VSOM)

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Arrangement

Arranged chronologically or alphabetically within series. Subject categories used by the family were maintained.

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Inventory

Clippings
Box 1 General 1988-1989 (9 folders)
Box 2 General 1989-1991 (12 folders)
Box 3 General 1991-1993 (9 folders)
Box 4 General 1993-1996 (10 folders)
Box 5 General 1997-2000 (10 folders)
Box 6 General 2000-2001 (7 folders)
Box 7 General 2001-2007 (10 folders)
Box 8 General 2008-2014 (12 folders)
Box 1 General undated (3 folders)
Oversize 1 General oversize 1988-2014
Box 9 Appeal 2001-2007
Box 9 Airline safety 1990-2004
Box 9 Cremation - diamonds 2003
Box 9 Dater, Gretchen 1989
Box 9 Dedication - Cairn 1994-1995
Box 9 Dunblane, Scotland 1996
Box 9 Hartunian, Lynne 1989
Box 9 Kennedy, John F., Jr. 20 July 1999
Box 9 Johnson, Mary 1989
Box 9 KAL 007 1991-1997
Box 9 Lawsuit - Libya 1996-2002
Box 9 Lawsuits - victim awards 1990-2002
Box 9 Libya - human rights 2003
Box 9 Libya - nuclear threat 2003-2004
Box 9 Oklahoma City bombing 1995
Box 9 Punitive damages 2002-2004
Box 9 Sweeney, John 2005-2006
Box 9 Swissair Flight 11 1999
Box 9 Tenth anniversary 1998
Box 9 Terrorist-related legal action 1994-2003
Box 10 Trial 1997-2001
Box 10 TWA Flight 800 1996-2001
Box 10 Zwynenburg, Mark J. undated
Correspondence
Box 10 General 1988-1989
Box 11 General 1989-1993
Box 12 General 1994-1999
Box 13 General 2000-2005
Box 14 General 2006-2008
Box 15 General 2009-2011
Box 1 General undated (3 folders)
Box 16 Americans for Legal Reform undated
Box 16 Biden, Joseph R., Jr. 2004
Box 16 Board meeting 2009
Box 16 Boycott all Scottish-made goods 2009
Box 16 Brennan, John 2009
Box 16 Cain, Carline 2009
Box 16 Clinton, Hillary Rodham 21 November 2011
Box 16 Condolence letters from Joan Dater's Keuka College classmates 1989-1999
Box 16 Duggan, Francis 2009
Box 16 Englewood 2009
Box 16 Friends of Gretchen Dater 2000-2001
Box 16 Gretchen Dater Memorial Art Scholarship 2010
Box 16 Keegans, Patrick 2009
Box 16 Libya 2006
Box 16 Lockerbie swimming pool 2005
Box 16 Meeting with lawyers March 2007
Box 16 Mueller, Robert S. III 7 July 2011
Box 16 Murtagh, Brian 2009
Box 16 New Jersey state officials 1989-1998
Box 16 Pan Am insurance 1995-2004
Box 16 Queen Elizabeth II 6 January 1989
Box 16 Release [of Al-Megrahi] 2009
Box 16 Sirius radio interview 2009
Box 16 Syracuse archives 1990
Box 16 Syracuse University 1993-2003
Box 16 Syracuse University Vice President for Undergraduate Studies 2001
Box 16 Zaid, Mark 2009
Memorials
Box 17 Arlington Cairn ceremonies 2004, 2009
Box 17 Beirut, Lebanon 23 October 1993
Box 17 Bennett, Lawrence Ray 1994
Box 17 Bissett, Florence 2002
Box 17 Bissett, Kenneth undated
Box 17 Bouckley, Glenn and Alderman Bouckley, Paula 1989
Box 17 Cairn 1995
Box 17 Cairn - dedication 1995
Box 17 Cairn congressional resolution 1991-1993
Box 17 Congressional joint resolution undated
Box 17 Cairn memorial - planning, funding 1990-1995 (2 folders)
Box 17 Cairn - planning for 1992-1995
Box 17 Cohen, Theodora 1989
Box 17 Dark elegy 1989-1996 (3 folders)
Box 18 Dark elegy 1989-1996 (2 folders)
Dater, Gretchen
Box 18 Church of Immaculate Heart of Mary 31 December 1989
Box 18 Dedication of collection plates 14 May 2000
Box 18 Friends of Gretchen Dater 8 November 1998
Box 18 Memorial program, John Y. Dater School 21 December 1989
Box 18 Maryland Institute College of Art, memorial program for Gretchen Joyce Dater and Louise Ann Rogers 29 January 1989
Box 18 Other memorials 1989-1992, undated
Box 18 Poetry undated
Box 18 Skylands centennial celebration 1991
Box 18 Writings and obituaries 1988, undated
Box 18 Dater, Joan 2016
Box 18 Dater, Tom 2013-2014
Box 18 The Day of the longest night 21 December 1989
Box 18 "Destiny's flight" by Barbara Minch undated
Box 18 Fuller, James Ralph 1988-1995
Box 18 General 1973-1998
Box 18 General 1989-1994
Box 18 General 1998, 2001
Box 18 General 2001
Box 18 General undated
Box 18 Giebler, William, Jr. 2003
Box 18 Hudson, Melina 1989
Box 18 Lowenstein, Alexander undated
Box 18 McKee, Charles 1989
Box 18 Memorial bench 1999
Box 18 No Greater Love 1989-1993
Box 18 Remembrance Room, Tundergarth 30 June 1990
Box 18 Remembrance Week and Remembrance Scholars 2006-2007, undated
Box 18 Rogers, Louise Ann 1988
Box 18 Sigal, Irving 1988
Box 18 Tundergarth church 21 December 1989
Box 18 Zwynenburg, Mark 1988
Subject files
Box 19 2007 Remembrance Scholars and Gretchen's poster photo 2007
Box 19 911 [September 11, 2001] 2001-2005
Box 19 Acts of unlawful interference - graphs undated
Box 19 Additional actions needed to meet domestic and international challenges January 1994
Box 19 After the crash: an information kit for the victims of airline disasters 1989
Box 19 Airline safety 1990-2001
Box 19 Airport security 1996-2004
Box 19 Annual report to congress on civil aviation 1993
Box 19 Aviation safety 2001-2005, undated
Box 19 Aviation security act of 1989 statements 1989
Box 19 Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC) reference guide package December 1991
Box 19 Aviation security improvement act of 1990 1990
Box 19 Aviation security reform, Albany law journal 1993
Box 19 Compassion - pain/suffering 1984-2004
Box 20 Conferences and publications 1992-1997
Box 20 Congressional record - sanctions 1998
Box 20 Contact lists undated
Box 20 Coping with grief 1986-2000
Box 20 Dater family writings undated
Box 20 Families of victims 1989-2004
Box 20 Fatal accident inquiry 1989
Box 20 Federal security manager handbook September 1991
Box 20 Fifth anniversary 1994
Box 20 First anniversary 1989
Box 20 "Flight of peace" by Jonathan Hoefer 1990, undated
Box 20 Gretchen Dater Day 2000
Gretchen Dater Art Day/Week memorabilia
Oversize 2 Commemorative buttons 2008 (2 folders)
Oversize 2 Pencils undated (2 folders)
Oversize 2 Tote bags 2016 (2 folders)
Box 20 Gretchen Dater Art Week 2010
Box 20 Grief 1995-2004
Box 20 Indictment [of Fhimah and Al-Megrahi] 1999-2000
Box 20 Improving America's anti-terrorist policies and practices undated
Box 20 "Let's reach for peace," an exhibit of the artwork of Gretchen Joyce Dater" undated
Box 20 Libya - Gadhafi 1997-2005
Box 20 Libya - general 1989-2005
Box 20 Libya - guilt 1994-2005
Box 21 Libya letter 1997
Box 21 Libya sanctions 1989-2005 (4 folders)
Box 21 Libya's continuing responsibility for terrorism November 1991
Box 21 Lockerbie website 2002-2005
Box 21 Loss of child 1987-2002
Box 21 Loss of parent 2001, undated
Box 21 The Maltese double cross 4 May 1995, undated
Box 21 Media 1990-1997
Box 21 Meeting minutes 1989
Box 21 Meeting notes 1991-2001, undated
Box 22 Mid-Annandale Playcare undated
Box 22 National Air Disaster Alliance/Foundation 1998-2003
Box 22 Negroponte 2007
Box 22 New Jersey and Syracuse 2006
Box 22 Notes 1999-2000
Box 22 Office for Victims of Crime [OVC], United States Department of Justice 1999-2007 (7 folders)
Box 23 Pan Am 103 library 1999-2001
Personal effects of Gretchen Dater
Tube 1 British Museum poster 1998,
Oversize 2 Shawl undated
Box 23 Petitions 1989
Box 23 Phone chain 1991-1992
Photographs
Box 23 Artwork by Gretchen Dater undated
Oversize 2 Dark elegy undated
Box 23 Dater family 2009-2010
Box 23 Gretchen Dater 1970-1988
Box 23 Gretchen Dater Art Week undated compact discs
Box 23 Gretchen Dater Day, Gretchen's grave 18 May 2010
Box 23 Gretchen Art Day 2014
Box 23 Joan Dater with Janet Reno August 1999
Box 23 Memorials 1999, 2008, undated
Box 23 Poetry 1989-2001, undated (2 folders)
Box 23 President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism [PCAST] 1989-1990
Box 23 President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism [PCAST] briefing material December 18, 1989
Box 23 President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism [PCAST] information kit 1990
Box 24 President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism [PCAST] public hearing 9 March 1990
Box 24 President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism [PCAST] public hearing 4 April 1990 (3 folders)
Box 24 President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism [PCAST] statements 1989-1990 (2 folders)
Box 25 Relatives of victims Pan Am 103 2001-2002 (2 folders)
Box 25 Remarks by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell with Lockerbie family members 8 February 2001
Oversize 2 Reward posters undated
Box 25 Reward/wanted posters undated
Box 25 Saint John's art show 20 May 1989
Box 25 State of New York legislative resolution 18 April 1989
Box 25 Support for bereaved 1989-1997
Box 25 Sweeney, John E. [Sweeney Amendment] 2006
Box 25 Syracuse University 1989-1991 (2 folders)
Box 25 Syracuse University 1998-2004
Box 25 Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980, 1993
Box 25 Tenth anniversary 1998-1999 (2 folders)
Box 26 Terrorism 1989-2007 (3 folders)
Oversize 2 "Terrorism and Apathy: A Deadly Combination" t-shirts belonging to Tom and Joan Dater undated (2 folders)
Box 26 Travel to Camp Zeist 1999-2001
Box 26 United Nations Security Council 11 November 1993
Box 26 United Nations Security Council hearings on the sanctions against Libya March 1998
Box 26 U.S. Department of State fact sheets 1991
Box 26 U.S. Vincennes 1990
Box 26 Victims of Pan Am 103 Association 1989-2004 (3 folders)
Box 27 Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc. 1990-2002, undated (2 folders)
Box 27 Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc., Newton Massachusetts meeting 27-29 March 1992
Box 27 Visit to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) technical center 19 March 1994
Box 27 Warsaw Convention/Montreal Protocol 1989-1996 (4 folders)
Box 28 Warsaw Convention/Montreal Protocol 1989-1996
Box 28 Whitehouse Commission on Aviation Safety and Security 1996-1997 (2 folders)
Box 28 The Women of Lockerbie, by Deborah Brevoort 2013, undated
Box 28 Writings - other undated
Trials and testimonies
Box 28 Appeal of Al-Megrahi 2008-2009
Box 28 Appeal - miscellaneous information 2001-2002
Box 28 Appeal - transcript 2002 (2 folders)
Box 28 Civil actions 1995-1998
Box 29 General 1989-1994
Box 29 General 2003
Box 29 Indictment of Abdel Basset Ali Al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah 1991
Box 29 Judgement 2001
Box 29 Libya - settlement 1997-2005 (2 folders)
Box 29 Lockerbie - trial 1997-2002 (3 folders)
Box 29 Lockerbie Trial Families Project 2000 (1 folder)
Box 30 Lockerbie Trial Families Project 2000-2003 (11 folders)
Box 30 Lockerbie trial information 2000-2001
Box 31 Lockerbie trial notes 2000
Box 31 Megrahi appeal 2001-2004
Box 31 Pagnucco v. Pan Am World Air Ways, Inc. and Alert Management, Inc. January 31, 1994
Box 31 Pan Am lawsuit 1989-1998 (2 folders)
Box 31 Punishment - Megrahi 2002-2003
Box 31 Release of Al-Megrahi 2009-2010
Box 31 Settlement 2002
Box 31 Trial day seventy-four 28 November 2000 (2 folders)
Box 31 Trial day seventy-five 29 November 2000
Box 31 Trial day seventy-seven 8 January 2001
Box 31 Trial day seventy-eight 9 January 2001
Box 31 Trial day seventy-nine 10 January 2001 (2 folders)
Box 32 Trial day eighty-six 31 January 2001
Box 32 Trial day one 23 January 2002
Box 32 Trial day two 24 January 2002
Box 32 Trial day one hundred 14 February 2002

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