Millvina Dean died today at the age of 97.
She was nine weeks old when the RMS Titanic left on its ill–fated voyage in April 1912. She was the youngest passenger on board and, consequently, the youngest survivor. And, with her passing, all the passengers on board the ship are now deceased.
Her father died when the Titanic sank. If his body was recovered, it was never identified. Her brother lived to be 82 years old, dying in 1992 — on the 80th anniversary of the sinking.
And, in the final irony, Millvina Dean died on the 98th anniversary of the day the ship was launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
(I suppose one of the most ironic stories involving Titanic has to be the one about stewardess Violet Jessop. Many people don't know that Titanic was one of three Olympic–class passenger liners owned by the White Star Line. Jessop was on board all three — the Olympic, the Titanic and the Britannic — when they met with disaster, and she survived them all. Titanic, of course, struck an iceberg. A few years later, Britannic struck a mine during World War I and sank. Olympic collided with another ship but didn't sink.
(Socialite Margaret Brown became known as the "Unsinkable Molly Brown" when she survived the Titanic, but I think Jessop deserved to be called "unsinkable." She died in 1971 at the age of 84.)
Dean had been in ill health in recent months and had been forced to sell many family possessions to pay for her medical care. Earlier this month, the stars and director of the blockbuster movie based on the tragedy joined forces to raise money to defray her expenses.
Only a few days ago, actors Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio and director James Cameron provided $30,000 that had been raised to help with her medical costs.
The fund that was to be used to help Dean with her expenses was known at the Millvina Fund. I've heard nothing about what the fund may be used for now.
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