Mrs Jacques Futrelle (Lily May Peel), 35, was born in Atlanta, Georgia on 26 May 1876, the daughter of David G. Peel and Molly Thompson.
May Peel Futrelle was the wife of Jacques Futrelle, Sr. they lived in Scituate, Massachusetts with their two children, Virginia and Jacques, Jr. The children were born barely 12 months apart. Virginia was born November 8, 1896, married a Mr Raymond, and died in Haverhill, Massachusetts in January of 1981. Jacques Futrelle, Jr. was born 20 November 1898. He later became the night news editor of the Washington Post and died in Herndon, Virginia in July 1979.
Mrs Futrelle was a prolific author short stories and had also published several novels. The couple had been in Europe for several weeks while Jacques wrote a number of magazine articles. On the night before sailing, friends had gathered in London to celebrate Mr Futrelle's birthday. The party did not end until 3:00 A.M. and the Futrelle's never went to bed but packed and headed for Southampton. Mrs Futrelle was later to lament that "if my husband had got drunk that night, he might not have sailed, and he might be alive today. But he never did drink much."
On the night of the sinking, Mrs Futrelle made her way to the boat deck and encountered a group of men with "smoke-blackened faces" standing silently in a group staring at her. She later commented, "they said nothing but their eyes seemed to say, 'at least you have a chance, we have none.'" May Futrelle was rescued probably in Lifeboat 9 but Jacques died in the sinking.
Mrs Futrelle returned to Scituate, Massachusetts.
She died at the age of 91.
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