Denease Conley was a 44-year-old Navy veteran working security in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. She never came home to Kansas City.

Twenty-five years later, her name is displayed at the Overland Park 9/11 Memorial, and her family is still telling her story.

Conley's brother, Herman Ray, told KSHB that his sister was outside the building and could have stayed out. Instead, she went back in at least six times.

"They always talked about the first responders, but they never mentioned the people that were already there escorting people out of there," Ray said.

Conley served four years in the U.S. Navy before moving to New York, where she worked as a security guard in Tower 1, KCTV5 reported. She had also passed the qualifying exams to become a New York City firefighter. Her family did not learn that until her funeral, when her boss told them.

Her sister, Barbara Haynes-Jenkins, said she still has Denease's airline ticket for a planned trip home to Kansas City on Sept. 17, 2001. That trip never happened.

Haynes-Jenkins told KCTV5 she planned to travel to the 9/11 Memorial in New York City on Sept. 11 to read her sister's name aloud. Archive footage shows Conley helping firefighters enter the World Trade Center complex that morning. Haynes-Jenkins has seen the video.

Haynes-Jenkins said sharing her sister's story is part of a healing process and that she wants Denease's name to always be remembered.

Conley was one of six people with ties to the Kansas City area who died in the attacks, according to Flatland KC. Her niece, DaVena Price-Farag, said the family was able to bring her body home. Price-Farag's daughter, Kya Denease Farag, was born a year after the attacks and carries her great-aunt's name as her middle name.

Closer to home, Conley's name is displayed at the Overland Park 9/11 Memorial at the Fire Department Training Center, 12401 Hemlock St. The memorial features a 14-foot steel beam from the Twin Towers. The beam creates a sundial effect as the sun passes over the space. Educational panels and a water feature complete the site.

Volunteers with SevenDays cleaned the memorial on Sept. 9 ahead of the anniversary. The Overland Park Fire Department lit the site overnight on Sept. 10, and Sept. 11.

The department's annual Honor Guard ceremony began at 7:30 a.m. Friday at the memorial. Fifth graders from Heartland Elementary visited the site on Sept. 10 to learn how the community built the memorial.

The Overland Park 9/11 Memorial at 12401 Hemlock St. is open to visitors year-round.