Letter dated July 1 1977 from Percy H. Carr to Lorenzo and Zilla Richards regarding the death of "Margie" and her last days

Letter dated July 1 1977 from "Perk" [Percy H. Carr of Ames, Iowa] to Lorenzo and Zilla Richards regarding the death of "Margie" and her last days; includes a note by Lorenzo Richards saying he phoned "the Carrs" on 6 July 1977July 1 1977 Dear Ren and Zilla This is an attempt to fill you in on what has been feoing on lately. First, in case you have not heard, Margie died on May 28. I will review some of what went on since we last reported. In October last fall Janet and I went to Yachats and escorted Margie to her Watkinsville GA home for the winter. A few days after we arrived she decided we should get Jerry's ashes buried, so we accompanied her to the family burying ground in Ohio where the mission was accomplished. We returned with her to GA and then came home to Ames. About the middle of Janualry we set out for LA where we visited Bob and Jan for about a month. Then we went to GA to be with Margie for the rest of the winter. I arrived with an attack of bronchial pneumonia and we put yp in a neighboring motel for 10 days so as not to contaminate Margie. Penicillin cured the problem quickly, and we ;moved in with Margie. The last week in March we started for OR as her escort. All went well except the weather brought late snow storms in the upper plains and Rockies so we kept to a southern route with options to go north if opportunity offerred (whick it did not). At the start Margie had hoped she would have sthe strength to visit you folks, but bfy the time we were approaching the real west she had only the desire to get home with as little effort as possible. On the whole the trip of about 12 days went very enjoyably for all. The thing Margie feared ;the most was the Mohave Desert, but we crossed it a few days after a rain on a cool day and the whole place was in bloom. She was delighted. That was the one place she had hoped to avoid, but as we entered Albuquerque it started to snow quite heavily so we put up there. The next morning all roads to the north were closed including the interstates, so the decision as to route was forced upon us. We arrived in Yachats on April 9. We stayed over a few days because she had an appointment for her annual physical on April 14. That ;morning we, Janet and I, got ready and in the car. Margie had been up and around but was not supposed to have breakfast. When Margie did not appear I went back to find she had gone back to the bathfoom. I asked if she needed help, reminding her that it was getting late. She said no and mumbled other things I could not understand. I said I could not understand, but did she need help. She said no emphatically, so I went back to the car. A second round like this 10 minutes later made us decide to sent Janet in to see what was going on. Margie was out of her head, obvviously very wrong. We called the doctor (80 miles away in Corvallis) and told him, and he agreed to see her first thing in afternoon. We got there about half an hour before he returned from hospital duties. He examined her and put her in the hospital saying it was brain tumor or stroke, more likely the latter. She went downhill for about three days then rapitlly ;improved. (Please forget the frequent ;;;. My little finger droops and fires this electric machine.) After 12 days Doc said she could go home Monday. She said no, Tuesday, because the housekeeper came to clean Tuesday morning and she wanted to go home to a clean house. Tuesday morning we left the ;shore to pick her up before noon. When we got there she was in a coma having had a massive stroke while dressing to come home. She never regained consciousness but lasted 5 weeks before dying. She was cremated and at her request the ashes will be thrown in the Pacific on an outgoing tide. At her request I have been appointed executor of her will. She is survived by one sister f a seminar at 5 30 and all was over by 8 p.m. We have not seen the new one yet. Bob says we should huriry as he is changing so fast. Later this summer we will have to go to GA to take care of some things for /Margie even though her sister is on the scene. Probably this fall we will have to spend some time in Yachats on estate business. I hope we can be in the LA region at least part of the winter, and if we are we look forward to seeing you. Hope you are all well and happy. Lov