Lillian Asplund, 99; Last U.S. Survivor Of Titanic Tragedy

Lillian Gertrud Asplund, 99, the last American survivor of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, died May 6 at her home in Shrewsbury, Mass. No cause of death was reported.

Ms. Asplund was 5 when she lost her father and three brothers -- including a twin -- when the ship went down in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg.

Ms. Asplund's mother, Selma, and brother Felix, who was 3, also survived the sinking early April 15, 1912.

Ms. Asplund was the last Titanic survivor with memories of the sinking, but she shunned publicity and rarely spoke about the events.

At least two other survivors are living, but they were too young at the time of the sinking to have memories of the disaster. Barbara Joyce West Dainton of Truro, England, was 10 months old, and Elizabeth Gladys "Millvina" Dean of Southampton, England, was 2 months old.

The Asplunds had boarded the ship in Southampton, England, as third-class passengers on their way back to Worcester, Mass., from their ancestral homeland of Sweden, where they had spent several years.

Ms. Asplund's mother described the sinking in an interview with a Worcester newspaper shortly after she and her two children arrived in the city.

Selma Asplund said the family went to the Titanic's upper deck after the ship struck the iceberg.

"I could see the icebergs for a great distance around," she said. "It was cold and the little ones were cuddling close to one another and trying to keep from under the feet of the many excited people. . . . My little girl, Lillie, accompanied me, and my husband said, 'Go ahead, we will get into one of the other boats.' He smiled as he said it."

Because the Asplunds lost all of their possessions and money, the city of Worcester held a fundraiser and a benefit concert that together brought in about $2,000 for the family.

Lillian Asplund worked at secretarial jobs in the Worcester area most of her life. She retired early to care for her mother, who was described as having never gotten over the tragedy.

Selma Asplund died in 1964. Felix Asplund died in 1983.