Winnifred Quick
Encyclopedia
Winnifred Vera Quick Van Tongerloo (January 23, 1904 – July 4, 2002) was one of the last four remaining survivors of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.

Early life

Winnifred Vera Quick was born in Plymouth, England in 1904 to Frederick Charles Quick, a plasterer, and his wife, Jane Richards Quick. A second daughter, Phyllis May, was born on July 27, 1909.

In 1910, Winnifred's father decided to emigrate from England to Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

 to make a better life for his family. He travelled alone, and would later send for his wife and daughters when he was financially secure. In the meantime, the Quicks would live with Jane Quick's mother in Plymouth. By early 1912, Frederick was established and secure and sent for his family. Soon after his wife booked passage for herself and their two daughters, she was notified that her ship's sailing had been cancelled due to a coal strike, but that they would be transferred to the RMS Titanic which was set to sail on April 10, 1912.

Aboard Titanic

Eight-year-old Winnifred, along with her mother and sister, boarded the Titanic as second-class passengers at Southampton, England. Despite calm seas, Winnifred was seasick for most of the first four days.

On April 14, Winnifred and her family went to bed shortly after 9 p.m. Neither Winnifred, her mother, or sister, felt the ship's collision with the iceberg at 11:40 p.m. It was only after a passenger knocked on their cabin door telling them there had been an accident, did the Quick family realize something was wrong. Not thinking the ship was seriously damaged, Jane took her time getting dressed. A steward peeked his head inside the cabin and seeing how slow Jane was getting ready, demanded the family get their lifebelts on as the ship had struck an iceberg and was sinking.
Winnifred and her sister were awakened and dressed, and along with their mother, walked up five flights of stairs to A-Deck. On deck, an unknown gentleman helped calm Winnifred who was crying hysterically, and fasted Phyllis with a lifeboat. Jane put Winnifred and Phyllis in Lifeboat No. 11, but she was initially denied entry herself when the man in charge uttered, 'only room for the children'. Jane reportedly told him, 'either we go together or we stay together'. He finally let her join her children; she was the last one allowed in the lifeboat, which according to Jane, held roughly 50 people. Even in the lifeboat, Winnifred continued to cry until someone noticed her shoes had fallen off and her feet were sitting in the freezing water.

Winnifred finally fell asleep but was awoken when people around her cheered as the rescue ship RMS Carpathia
RMS Carpathia
RMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson. Carpathia made her maiden voyage in 1903 and became famous for rescuing the survivors of after the latter ship hit an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912...

 became visible. Winnifred and Phyllis were put in a sack and pulled to RMS Carpathia
RMS Carpathia
RMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson. Carpathia made her maiden voyage in 1903 and became famous for rescuing the survivors of after the latter ship hit an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912...

's deck. Winnifred later recalled seeing many survivors weeping and even observed burial at sea for several passengers who had died in the lifeboats. Winnifred's father heard the news of Titanic's sinking, but received a wireless message that his wife and daughters were safe. He was at the dock in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 on April 18, when the RMS Carpathia
RMS Carpathia
RMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson. Carpathia made her maiden voyage in 1903 and became famous for rescuing the survivors of after the latter ship hit an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912...

 arrived. The Quicks spent the night as guests of the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society. The following morning, the Quicks left New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 on the New York Express
New York Express
This article is about the former indoor soccer team.The New York Express were a soccer team based out of Uniondale, New York that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They played only one season, the 1986-1987 season. Their home arena was Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum...

 and arrived in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

 on April 20.

Winnifred's mother died in 1965, aged 84, and her sister, Phyllis, died in 1954.

Career and marriage

Winnifred left school after graduating from the eighth grade. She worked in various jobs including making candy and as a sales clerk at a department store. In 1918, Winnifred met Alois Van Tongerloo and the two were married in 1923. He was a master carpenter; the marriage produced five children.

Later life

In 1966, her husband retired and the two travelled throughout the USA, reportedly visiting every state except Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

. When asked if she would ever make a return trip back to England, she replied "No! I don't like big boats! I like to go in the water up to my neck but not on top of the water over my head!" Although Winnifred didn't mind talking about her experiences on the Titanic, she never attended any organized gatherings of Titanic survivors.

Death

Winnifred Van Tongerloo died on July 4, 2002 in East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located directly east of Lansing, Michigan, the state's capital. Most of the city is within Ingham County, though a small portion lies in Clinton County. The population was 48,579 at the time of the 2010 census, an increase from...

, aged 98. She was one of the last five remaining survivors, the last survivor who did not lose a relative in the sinking, and was preceded in death by her husband, and two of her children.

External links

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