It was not until last month I saw Jane for the first time. A chubby baby sitting in her high chair. The bottom of the photo has her name and 1926 written on it. Possibly the last picture taken of her during her short life. A picture tucked away for many years waiting for a story to be told.
Not all children have the fortune of growing into adulthood. Some times their lives are cut short by tragic circumstances. That was the case of Helen Jane Weil. I have heard the story many times.
It was 1926: Jane, as she was called by her family had lost her mother in February of that year to the flu. Jane and her older sister, Mary where being cared for now by their father and grandmother.
Jane was put down for a nap by her grandmother, May Chidsey-Weil. May would go to check on the baby later only to find her not breathing. Mary would later in life remember hearing her grandmother upstairs letting out blood curdling screams upon the discovery. The string that had secured Jane's pacifier around her neck had become caught on the crib causing her to strangle.
Life cut tragically short by circumstances unforeseen. Jane died just short of a month following her first birthday. She was laid to rest next to her mother at Mt. Olivet Cemetery.
Jane would have been 85 years old this past week.
In Memory of:
Helen Jane Weil
Born: July 08, 1925 Joliet, Illinois
Died: August 05, 1926 Joliet, Illinois
Monday, August 9, 2010
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