Eleanor I. Shuman, 87, Titanic survivor

ELGIN, Ill. -- Eleanor I. Shuman, one of the last survivors of the Titanic, has died at age 87.

After suddenly taking ill, Mrs. Shuman died Saturday in Elgin's Sherman Hospital.

Mrs. Shuman, who was less than 2 years old when the ship went down in 1912, was with her mother, brother and two Swedish teens traveling with the family during the voyage home from Europe following a visit to relatives. Mrs. Shuman's mother, brother and one of the teens were among the 706 survivors.

Mrs. Shuman saw the premiere of the movie "Titanic" last year in Chicago and met director James Cameron there.

 "He said I reminded him of Rose, the girl in the movie," Mrs. Shuman told a reporter later. "So when you see Rose, think of me."

Mrs. Shuman said the movie revived memories even though she was only a toddler when the ship sank.

"I can still see all the hands reaching up to me from below," she said in a December interview. "I didn't want to go. And I remember the noise. Everybody was yelling and crying and screaming."

The movie, she said, was so realistic that it was difficult to watch. "I did a lot of crying."

She is survived by a son, Earl Shuman of St. Charles, and two grandchildren.

Mrs. Shuman's death leaves six survivors of the disaster, according to Michael Findlay of the Titanic International Society of Freehold, N.J. The oldest is Winnifred Quick Vantongerloo, 94, of the Detroit area.