One day as George was leaning against a tree in the yard, his arm broke. He was taken to Riverside Hospital and was diagnosed as having a broken arm. It was later determined that he had bone cancer, and the cancer was not only in his arm but in various bones throughout his body. As his condition worsened, George’s sons took turns spending nights with him. Aunt Minnie, Rebecca’s sister-in-law and George’s first cousin, came to stay with Rebecca during George’s terminal illness.
One of the last pictures taken of George
On February 4, 1967, Aunt Minnie, who had introduced George and Rebecca many years before, was with them when George William Emerson departed this life. On a sunny and warm day in February, George was laid to rest in Beech Grove Cemetery in Coke, Virginia. An overflowing crowd and a huge bank of flowers attested to the respect and love that a large family and a host of friends had for George Emerson.
Rebecca and children, 1967
The Offspring, 1967
(Lynwood is not pictured.)
After George’s death, Aunt Minnie continued living in the Emerson home; within several months, she was diagnosed with cancer. During her hospitalization, she was told that her condition was terminal. Aunt Minnie had several choices: she could go to a nursing home or live with her nephew. She said, “I want to go home to live with Beck.”
A visit shortly before Minnie’s death: Edith Fleming, Mary Dowling, Aunt Minnie, Rebecca, Carrie Thruston, Helen (Mary’s daughter)
Six months after George’s death, Aunt Minnie died in the same bed where George had died.