Michael Horrocks was serving as co-pilot on United Flight 175 when he called his wife, Miriam, to say hello.

According to news reports confirmed by a family member, Horrocks called his wife before the plane took off and joked that the pilot--Victor Saracini--was "some guy with a funny Italian name."

The 38-year-old native of suburban Philadelphia had two children, a son in 1st grade and a daughter in 4th. Miriam Horrocks is a gym teacher at a nearby grade school, the family member said. His plane crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center.

Horrocks was a retired Marine and was a quarterback at West Chester University in West Chester, Pa.