I remember when I first learned about the 1918 influenza pandemic, my dad told me he had an aunt who died in that pandemic. Here's her story as best I can piece it together from photos and documents generously shared with me by both my dad and Cousin Petra.
Eleanor Motier and Edward M. Keating's third child, a girl, was born on November 5, 1898. She was named Mary Felicite, surely for Eleanor's French grandmother, Felicite Constant. The undated photo seen above is a portrait of Mary taken when she was a young girl.
Mary had the Keating artistic talent that my grandfather also shared. Irma told Petra that Mary had been studying art as a young person. We can still see that artistic talent in many family members, but especially Emily Keating Ballew and one of John's sons, John Michael Keating. Check out this link John Michael Keating art
The 1918 influence epidemic broke out in February 1918. At the time, Mary lived in Chicago with her parents and younger siblings while her two older brothers, Eddie and Louis, were serving in World War I. I'm not sure when Mary got sick or how long she was ill, but she died on November 6, 1918, one day after her 20th birthday. Most viruses kill older people or young children, but the flu epidemic of 1918 was different as it had an unusually high mortality rate for young adults, like Mary Felicite. See this article for more: Flu article
Mary's death must have been a shock to her entire family. They scrambled to get her buried, temporarily interring her in a cousin's burial plot. Mary's body was re-buried in Mt. Olivet cemetery on Memorial Day of 1919, perhaps because Eleanor and Edward wanted to wait for their two sons to return from the war. Mary's parents are now buried beside her, Edward M. Keating in 1944 and Eleanor in 1958. (They can be found at Mt. Olivet in Lot 37 Block 48)
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