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Mrs. Lulu Thorne Opie, 92, of the Old Post Road at Dunn's Corners in Westerly, a survivor of the sinking of the British passenger liner Titanic in 1912, died Tuesday at the Watch Hill Nursing Home.
One of the other survivors of the tragedy is Mrs. Opie's son [sic], Marshall B. Drew of Dunn's Corners, who was eight years old at the time of the cruise.
James V. Drew, Mrs. Opie's first husband and father [sic] of Marshall, went down with the Titanic after it struck an iceberg the night of April 14, 1912 in the North Atlantic while on its maiden journey.
Mrs. Opie had been in poor health since the death in February of her second husband, Richard Opie.
Mrs. Opie and her son were among the passengers who left the Titanic in a lifeboat and were afloat on the open sea for about five hours before they were rescued. About 1500 persons including crew and passengers, were lost in what is considered one of the worst marine disasters in history.
Three years ago she discussed the disaster with a reporter who came to visit her on her 89th birthday.
She said she and Mr. Drew had traveled to Cornwall, England in 1911 to visit Mr. Drew's mother.
"There was no particular reason we chose the Titanic for the trip home," she said. "It was sailing on Wednesday, April 10, 1912. That's when we intended to return and so we booked passage. We had sailed to England on the Olympic, a sister ship of the Titanic, but it wasn't sailing to New York at that time."
The family was awakened on the night of April 14 by a "tremendous crash." Mrs. Opie said, "People were running and yelling in the corridors."
She said her husband helped her and their son into a lifeboat. Women and children were given priority. Mrs. Opie said she never realized there might not be enough lifeboats for everyone. She and her son never saw Mr. Drew again.
"I have never forgotten the sound of the screaming as the ship slid under, and I still occasionally have nightmares about the people going down," she recalled.
True to her vow upon her arrival home, Mrs. Opie never again took an ocean voyage.
She was born in Greenport, Long Island, March 19, 1878, daughter of the late Henry Paul and Louise (Fisher) Christian. She had made her home in Westerly since 1925.
She was a parishioner of Central Baptist Church in Westerly, and a member of both the Westerly Grange and the Dunn's Corners "L" Club.
In addition to her son, she is survived by a granddaughter, Miss Elizabeth A. Drew of Dunn's Corners; a sister, Mrs. Fannie Gardiner of Shelter Island, N.Y. and four great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held tomorrow at 2 PM at the Harvey W. Buckler Funeral Home, 121 Main St., Westerly. Burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery, Ashaway.