East Moline State Hospital
Stories set here
- Family Visits and Long Sunday-Style DrivesCarol recalls that the family never took what she considered a real vacation. Daddy visited his relatives in Brainerd, sometimes taking Iris or the boys, but Carol never went or met her paternal grandparents. He also took the family on long drives toward the Wisconsin border. They visited Bessie and Harry Means and their children in Cordova, and a family named Rogers nearby. Bessie worked at the East Moline State Hospital.
- Caring for Daddy Through His Last MonthsDaddy suffered a stroke on Christmas Eve, 1967. Not realizing its seriousness, the family went to Iris and Bill's while Mom stayed with him. After Mom called Iris to report that he was worse, Lee and Bob took him to the hospital. Following two weeks there, his agitation prompted a search for other care. The family rejected St. Anthony's Hospital in Rock Island because patients were smoking while Daddy struggled to breathe. Mom tried caring for him at home with help from the girls and daily visits from Virginia, but the burden became exhausting. He was eventually taken to East Moline State Hospital. He died at sixty-three on May 23, 1968, surrounded by Mom and all the children, and is buried next to Mom at Riverside Cemetery in Moline, Illinois.
Events here
job
Bessie Means worked at the state hospital
Carol remembers Bessie working at the hospital; no position or dates are stated.
After the stroke and before May 23, 1968
Family care at home and the search for a suitable hospital
The family rejected St. Anthony’s Hospital in Rock Island because of smoking patients and Daddy's breathing difficulty. Mom cared for him at home with help from the girls and daily help from Virginia. Exhaustion and a lack of suitable alternatives eventually led to his placement at East Moline State Hospital.
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