Winnifred Quick
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| Winnifred van Tongerloo | |
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| Born | January 23, 1904 Plymouth, England |
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| Died | July 6, 2002 Lansing, Michigan |
| Spouse | Alois Van Tongerloo |
| Children | Three sons, two daughters |
| Parents | Frederick Charles Quick and Jane Richards |
Winnifred Vera Quick van Tongerloo (January 23, 1904-July 6, 2002) was one of the last five remaining survivors of the RMS Titanic.
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[edit] Early Life
Winnifred was born in Plymouth, England to Jane and Frederick Quick, the first of four children. Her younger sister, Phyllis May, was born on 27 July 1909. The family lived in England until 1910, when they immigrated to Detroit, Michigan. Jane returned to Plymouth early in 1912 with her two daughters to visit her relatives.
Mrs. Quick made arrangements to sail on a smaller ship, but that voyage was cancelled due to a coal strike. Their passage was changed to the Titanic. Mrs. Quick was unhappy about the arrangement. She said, "I don't want to sail on a new ship, I want one that has been tried and true and tested."
[edit] Titanic
The first four days went smoothly for the Quicks, though 8-year old Winnifred was seasick most of the time.
Jane was awakened when the ship struck the iceberg, but her daughters did not wake up. When she asked a steward what happened, he replied, "Don't stop to dress. Just get your lifebelts on. The ship has struck an iceberg. It's sinking!"
She woke the girls and the family made their way up to the boat deck. On the A-Deck, a gentleman asked if he could be of help. He helped calm the hysterical Winnifred and fasted a lifebelt onto little Phyllis. Mrs. Quick was rushing so fast that she hadn't has time to thank him. His identity and his fate are unknown.
Winnifred, her mother and her sister escaped the ship on lifeboat 11, apparently the last ones to get in the lifeboat, except for ten-month-old Frank Philip Aks, who was separated from his mother and tossed into the already-lowering lifeboat. The Quick family continued their trip to New York aboard the Carpathia, and was met by Frederick Quick at Pier 54.
[edit] After the Titanic
Frederick notified the rest of the extended family that Winnifred, Jane, and Phyllis were safe, and paid the ticket for the train to Detroit. Vivian and Virginia, born 1916 and 1918 respectively, were Winnifred's later-born sisters.
Winnifred did not attend college. She worked in a candy factory until she married carpenter Alois van Tongerloo, with whom she had three sons and two daughters. When Alois retired in 1966, he told Winnie that they could go wherever they wanted, suggesting Hawaii, but with a "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!" from Winnifred.
A biography was written of her, entitled The Titanic Commutator, by George Behe. The book was published in 1993.
She died at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan, in 2002.
