| |
|
|
|
|
-
-
| Notes |
- Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2001 11:45:50 -0800
To: "Vogt cousins"
From: Mary-Jeanne Perry
Subject: another Vogt passes on
Dear Cousins,
I am writing to let you know that I just received word that my aunt Marguerite Forde Sheppard the eldest daughter of Matilda "Tillie" Vogt Forde died on February 1st. Marguerite's age was probably in the late eighties. She had been reclusive and had refused to see anyone for many years. She only would see her caregivers -- her niece (my cousin) Maureen DeRubeis Savage (daughter of Marie Forde DeRubeis) and Maureen's husband Fred Savage. Maureen and Fred have cared for Marguerite for many years. Marguerite lived alone and insisted on it. Maureen and Fred stopped by to check on her all the time, and handled her affairs only if needed. Marguerite remained alert and fully aware until the end.
She had moved into an assisted living facility in November 2000. But after a fall, she had to be transferred to a nursing home in January 2001. She was old and frail and died of pneumonia.
I have more info, but that's all for now.
Love,
Mary-Jeanne.
By the way, Marguerite's sister Marie (Maureen's mom) has been living at Maureen and Fred's house since the fall of 1999. Marie has Alzheimer's and may need to move to a care facility soon, but Maureen would like to keep her at home for as long as possible. Maureen currently has a full-time nursing staff at her house to care for Marie.
I can't remember which of you cousins I have told this to, but Marie's house in Everett was sold in the summer or fall of 2000. And Marguerite's house in Melrose (near Wakefield) was sold in the late fall of 2000.
Of course, cleaning out and selling both of these Vogt-Forde family houses was a very emotionally draining process for my cousins (Maureen, Frances, and Victor). The legal process was mentally exhausting. And re-living all the old memories was both joyful and sad at the same time.
My cousins (Maureen, Frances, and Victor) went through the stuff from both houses and found quite a few interesting things (letters, photos, etc). They went through as much stuff as they were emotionally able to handle, and put the rest in boxes to go through later. The stuff is now stored at the current residences of Maureen, Frances, and Victor.
I understand that Maureen found some old advertisements from the paint company operated by (her and my grandfather) Harry Forde and (her and my and your great-uncle) Marcel Vogt. They were somewhat "racy" display ads with pictures of scantily clad young women! Apparently the reasoning in those days was that MEN bought paint, so the ads were designed to appeal to men.
In one of the two houses, Maureen found two old steamer trunks. One of the trunks was used by "Aunt Georgette" (Isabelle Dupuis Vogt's cousin Georgette Kuhn) on the voyage from France to New York. The other trunk was used by the Vogts on that voyage!
I'm not sure how Maureen was able to determine that these were the actual trunks used on the voyage from France to the USA. And I don't know how she discovered who used them. I thought Maureen seemed to say that the trunks were empty. So I wonder if there was an engraving or a marking or a tag attached or something.
I thought you'd be thrilled to hear about these trunks.
Quality of Data=Good
|
|
|
|
|
|
