Scottie’s Cause of Death

Today marks the birth date for my maternal Great Grandpa, Scottie, born in 1883, but today we’re going to talk about his death.

William Oscar AKA Scottie, is still quite an enigma to me and has been hard to find definitive documentation for except for a few tidbits and a very tragic train crash we’ll have to talk about another day.

That being said, I recently found his Death Certificate, and with the help of the internet Hive Mind, I’ve gained deeper insight into Scottie’s cause of death.

I also know (simply based on his death certificate) he must have had a horribly long and painful decline with nearly two months spent in the hospital.

Cause(s) of Death:

• Acute endocarditis

• Meningoencephalitis

• Aortic regurgitation

He and my great grandma were divorced and his two children lived states away. He was only 64 and there was no informant, only hospital records to inform his Death Certificate.

This all feels so very lonely to me.

I long to learn more about him and would love to find a photo of him at some point, but for today I am simply honoring his existence and his passing as he dances within my DNA.

No matter how he died, he lived and lives on in my imagination.

Onward,

Melis