Bornot's Remarriage and Death
Some time later Bornot married again, this time to a widow with three children. Her name was Joan Wood and the children were teenagers Charles and Joan and, slightly younger, Peter. By that time, Sonya was away at college in New York. She worked later in New York until Bornot died on February 27, 1961. He had been very sick for several months although he continued to direct my work and activities around the house and farmstead.
On the day he died, he had asked me to clean and oil his large collection of guns which he kept in a cabinet and he was very proud of. About midmorning, Joan came running in and asked me to call his doctor and ask him to come immediately, as Bornot was out of bed and collapsed on the floor. The doctor was there very quickly and I helped him to lift Bornot onto the bed, but he was dead. I went down to the barn and called Claire at home. When I told Claire, she immediately called the church and very soon a priest came and administered the last rites of the church. For me, this was the beginning of 27 (?) very eventful years.
posted by Mimi @ 2:38 AM
4 Comments:
I do remember long days out in the summer sun, with Uncle Frank, weeding around the rows of chrysanthemum plants. At the end of one day he gave me a lecture about me not talking enough. Mr. DeMille had a small red Italian sports car that he liked to drive with the top down. It seemed like every Friday we would fill up the trunk, back and passenger seat with mature chrysanthemum plants. I was told that Mr. DeMille brought them down to Philadelphia for the staff of a manufacturing company that he owned. I often spotted Mr. DeMille on my way to work in the morning. He would be out on the golf course practicing his swing. On other days he would be out on the terrace target shooting with a rifle.
Thanks for your comments, John; they add a lot to the narrative. It's a bit amusing that Uncle Frank gave you a lecture on not talking enough--he was hardly loquacious himself!
Joan Wood was my husband's grandmother. It was very interesting for us to find and read your blog. My husband's father, Charles passed away last year, and until recently did not have much information regarding his childhood. I actually found your blog while searching for information of his grandfather, Oscar Wood who was a physician and medical illustrator. Thanks for providing us with a glimmer of hope in our search for information!
By the way, we'd love to hear any other information you might have regarding Joan and her children.
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