BOSTON — Lillian Gertrud Asplund, the last American survivor of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, has died, a funeral home said Sunday. She was 99.
Asplund, who was just 5 years old, lost her father and three brothers — including a fraternal twin — when the "practically unsinkable" ship went down in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg.
She died Saturday at her home in Shrewsbury, said Ronald E. Johnson, vice president of the Nordgren Memorial Chapel in Worcester, Mass.
Asplund's mother, Selma, and another brother, Felix, who was 3, also survived the Titanic sinking in the early morning of April 15, 1912.
Asplund was the last Titanic survivor with actual memories of the sinking, but she rarely spoke about the events.
The Asplund family had boarded the ship in Southampton, England, as third-class passengers on their way back from Sweden.
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In an interview, Selma Asplund said the family went to the Titanic's upper deck after it struck the iceberg.
"I could see the icebergs for a great distance around … 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 husband said 'Go ahead, we will get into one of the other boats.' He smiled as he said it."
Lillian Asplund never married and worked 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.
