| Millvina Dean, believed to be the last survivor of | | | | CNN. “She seemed in good spirits.” |
| the Titanic, has died at 97, her friends confirmed | | | | Haas noted that Dean’s death fell on May 31, |
| Sunday. | | | | exactly 98 years after the Titanic was launched. |
| Dean was just an infant when the RMS Titanic | | | | While Dean’s survival brought her celebrity-like |
| — publicized as “practically unsinkable” | | | | status in some circles, she was 8 years old |
| and the largest passenger steamship at the time | | | | before she knew she was on the fateful ship. |
| — struck an iceberg on the night of April 14, | | | | Dean, along with her young brother and mother, |
| 1912, during its maiden voyage from | | | | survived the sinking of the Titanic, but her mother |
| Southampton in southern England to New York. | | | | didn’t tell her about it until years later, Haas |
| The ship sank less than three hours later, killing | | | | said. |
| more than 1,500 people. | | | | Although she didn’t have memories of the |
| Brian Ticehurst, a friend of Dean, said she died at | | | | historic and tragic event, Dean, who never |
| 8 a.m. Sunday. | | | | married or had children, became a larger presence |
| Dean was hospitalized a few days ago for medical | | | | for Titanic enthusiasts and historians over the |
| complications before returning to the Woodlands | | | | past three decades. |
| Ridge Nursing Home in Southampton, said Charles | | | | “Having gone through that disaster she was |
| Haas, a friend and president of the Titanic | | | | given extra years and an extra dose of |
| International Society based in New Jersey. | | | | vitality,” said Haas, who recalled escorting |
| A nurse at the home declined to comment on | | | | Dean to a Titanic society gala a few years ago. |
| Dean’s passing. | | | | Dean became the last known Titanic survivor |
| Haas said Dean’s last public appearance was | | | | after Barbara Joyce Dainton died in October 2007. |
| at the British Titanic Society’s convention in | | | | The last American survivor, Lillian Asplund, died in |
| April, which she attended with her longtime | | | | May 2006. |
| companion, Bruno Nordmanis. | | | | Dean’s death leaves only artifacts and |
| “She only visited a short while, but she | | | | videotaped interviews with survivors to |
| wowed everybody with her charm,” Haas told | | | | “speak to us about the Titanic,” Haas said. |