Last Titanic Survivor

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http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=649697

 

[lizylou]

Its great to hear that she recieved 10x more for the items then she hoped. Isn't she's such a doll, imagine the smile on her face when she heard the news!!

 

[Jedburgh OSS]

God bless her for sure...

...but not her government. It wouldn't hurt the queen and her billions one bit to foot the bill for this woman's care for the remainder of her life. How sad that she had to sell those items. What happened to that national health care? Liquidate your assets three to seven years (depending on what state you live in) prior to going into a nursing home to keep their grubby mitts off of your property. You won't get any better care if you pay your own way or go in as an indigent. They'll take and keep everything no matter how long or short your stay, read that life, once you enter one of those places. Let the government absorb the bill for soaking you all of your life. Those of us who never took anything like welfare, food stamps, or unemployment and have paid more than our fair share of taxes have to get our refund somehow. Oh, hear the voice of experience.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Sometimes I wish I was one of those multi-millionaires or a billionaire, I would step in to a situation like that and make sure she was cared for the rest of her life.

How sad that the last survivor of the Titanic had to sell her mementos.

karol

 

[carter]

Millvina Dean - last living survivor of the Titanic.

Sometimes I wish I was one of those multi-millionaires or a billionaire, I would step in to a situation like that and make sure she was cared for the rest of her life.

How sad that the last survivor of the Titanic had to sell her mementos.

karol

Agreed!

This is a photo taken of Millvina Dean (seated left) with her mom Ettie and her brother Bertram (seated right), on Ettie's 90th Birthday in 1969. Millvina Dean would have been 57 when this photo was taken.

 

[Mojito]

Millvina is an absolute doll - everyone in the Titanic research community adores her. She was endlessly patient back when she was well enough to attend events, even with the sometimes overexuberant enthusiasm of people who were awed at meeting a survivor. She was the absolute soul of graciousness when it came to posing for photos - I had one friend who was a bit too shy to ask for a shot, and when Millvina saw her hovering on the fringe of the group she called the girl over and posed for several lovely shots.

She had a habit of inviting folks back from some of her homemade sloe gin - sadly, I never had the chance to take her up on it when I was in the UK. I remember becoming irate at one event when a particularly shonky dealer (not a member of the society hosting the event, nor a guest) bailed her up in a hotel lobby and asked her to sign a stack of things for him to sell. By the time I'd whipped myself up enough to tackle him (I didn't want to join her throngs of self-appointed keepers, but the behaviour was just so appalling), he'd slunk off. I'm sorry about the state of her health, but so glad the auction fetched better than expected prices.

 

[Paisley]

In a way, it might be for the best that she sold them when she did. A lot of stuff gets stolen in nursing homes. My mother had most of her clothes stolen in the rehab center where she's staying--inexpensive Wal-mart clothes that someone probably got $1 apiece for.

 

[Brinybay]

In a way, it might be for the best that she sold them when she did. A lot of stuff gets stolen in nursing homes. My mother had most of her clothes stolen in the rehab center where she's staying--inexpensive Wal-mart clothes that someone probably got $1 apiece for.

My thoughts exactly. Those artifacts wouldn't have lasted a week in that nursing home. My Dad's bolo tie that he made himself and was very fond of disappeared while he was in a nursing home. He was only there 3 weeks before he died.

Sadly, and disgracefully, nursing homes are notorious for theft from the elderly. Even volunteers that go into elderly people's homes to help with house keeping and other chores you have to keep an eye on.

 

[Lillemor]

I've caught a colleague carying out wall plates from an old lady in a nursing home I used to work at. She claimed the lady had given it to her. We had a policy that you weren't allowed to accept anything from the residents.

When you think about it, most nursing home residents have given up all but the most necessary belongings before being moved into a nursing home. So to steal any of their last possessions is just heartless for lack of a better word right now.

 

[StaceFace]

I work at a nursing home right now, and it sickens me listening to the residents complain about missing money or ruined clothes. Worse, one woman even had her GLASSES stolen :rage: . Outrageous...

 

[VintageGirl143]

I'm glad at least that the mementos of the last Titanic survivor went to very high bidders. Because of this im sure they truly appreciate the items. Along with that and the discussion of nursing homes I have to add a little story:

I used to volunteer at a nursing home in Jersey, and the thefts that took place were horrible. There was one very elderly woman named Rose-Mary who I became close to, who in her younger years was the partner of a company along side her husband who was the CEO (This is what the staff told me). Her children put her in the nursing home years before and noone ever came to visit. She told me that someone had stolen her wedding picture and some jewlery reciently. I was so outraged by this but there was no way of knowing who took it. I knew what one of the necklaces looked like and about 2 years later I saw a girl from my class wearing it!!! :rage: She was a volunteer also. I actually got the necklace back for the lady and reported it to the main staff. The girl who took the necklace used the "It was a gift" excuse then changed it to "I found it in a parking lot", to try to get out of being blamed. The woman who it belonged to was so thrilled, and she was such a precious lady.. Every year the nursing home held a craft sale and she made a large crochet blanket and wanted to sell it to me at the sale for $7.00. I gave her $50, she wouldnt accept it so we settled on $30. ( I wish i had a picture to post but I ended up giving it to my mom for Christmas) I know this is a long comment..but Rose-Marie passed away four months later, but I'm so happy I had the chance to know her.

**On a side note: All of the vintage/ antique things I have are so imporntant to me because I know they might have been special to other people, and I treasure them for their history. Another reason im glad I found the Fendora lounge because everyone here truly appreciates the value of their finds.

 

[LadyStardust]

I'm very happy to share a very touching and wonderful update to this lovely lady's story.

"Stars to the rescue as last Titanic survivor struggles to stay afloat"
http://www.independent.ie/national-...urvivor-struggles-to-stay-afloat-1734464.html

 

[Shangas]

I have heard much of the plight of Miss Dean. I'd LIKE to say that the stars of the film have done this out of kindness, but the impression I recieved from other articles, was that Mr. Cameron & Co. were guilt-tripped into doing this.

 

[LadyStardust]

She has passed, R.I.P. There are no more Titanic survivors left. Very, very sad.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/5421196/Millvina-Dean.html

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Rest her soul. So many people from that era are now gone. The last Titanic survivor, and at this time there are only six veterans (worldwide!) left from WW I, all well over 100.

I am so glad she was able to get some help from celebrities and concerned people in the last year of her life. I hope all her mementos go to those who will cherish them and ensure they are kept safe for future generations to see and appreciate.

karol

 

[carter]

It is indeed sad to see that the last survivor of the Titantic has passed. May she Rest In Peace.

One can only wonder how much the stress of raising funds for her care may have hastened her demise. Had her care been assured [years ago] by those who have profited greatly from the Titantic story, she may have been with us longer.

How many others, in similar circumstances, whose stories have profited many, are in need of the assurance that their final years will not be spent in concerns over how they are to have proper care? One can only wonder.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Yes, and sometimes not even their final years... I am thinking of those two kids in India, who starred in a film that made zillions, and they were relegated back to the slums from which they came.

At least someone is doing something about it now, supposedly. But why do people who make the big money have to be forced, by public opinion or otherwise, to look after those who helped them make the big bucks?

karol

 

[Shangas]

I heard about this yesterday. But at least all the Titanic survivors are together again, and Milvina's with her family.

Whatever happened to Bertram Dean?

 

[Mojito]

As much as one can say it is a shock when the person involved is 97, this came as one to many of us in the maritime research community. I have friends that have visited Millvina in the last few weeks, and she seemed in much better health than she has been. We thought she'd make it to the centenery of the sinking and beyond.

Millvina was so very gracious, warm and lively - very spirited, too. I know of a few stories where she put her foot down over an issue. But all most of us who met her saw was a beautiful lady who put others at their ease around her. She was very witty, and if one had a conversation either with her or within earshot, one had to be prepared for her amusing asides and observations.

Like many others who knew her, I was completely unaware of her financial situation before it was made public. We would gladly have assisted her in any way possible. But she chose not to make it a public matter until comparatively recently, and I have to respect that.

Bertram Dean passed away in 1992.