Hi Eric,
Lillian has lived a very quiet life since the sinking, and has never attended any Titanic related function to my knowledge. She was invited to numerous Titanic society conventions in the late 1980s and early 1990s but she politely refused. Like Darren said, she lost several family members in the sinking, and still retains painful memories of that terrible night.
Many claim that Mrs. VanTongerloo was the last survivor who remembered the Titanic, but Lillian (aged 5 at the time) certainly does also ~ particularly the scene at the lifeboat where she and her mother and younger brother were dropped into it. In a 1989 telephone conversation that I had with her, she said that she could still remember seeing her father's face as the boat was lowered away. He was still holding her twin brother Carl and she recalled seeing her two older brothers peering over the rail. She was always haunted as to why there wasn't time for them to get into the boat. Her father's body was later recovered and returned to the family for burial but her three brothers were never found.
As to her professional life, I did ask her once and she replied that she did some type of secretarial work in Worcester, Massachusetts, but retired early to care for her elderly mother who lived until the age of 90. Interestingly, Mrs. Asplund died on April 15, 1964 - 52 years after losing her husband and three young sons in the wreck.
Two friends and I went to see Lillian in late 1992. We presented her with a picture of her parents that she had never seen before and was very pleased to receive it. Our time with her was brief and she appreciated the thought but did not wish to speak about the Titanic. In a strange way, I think Lillian might have wanted to say a few more words because I'll never forget as we left, she stood at her door, smiled and called out, "Have a safe trip back home." I thought she might have welcomed the company without our Titanic link. We left with the impression that she lived somewhat of a sad and lonely life. She still drove her car and had friends and non-immediate family nearby but it seemed that she was alone more often than not.
My friends and I remarked how well Lillian looked in 1992. In fact, when she first opened her front door, I thought we were at the wrong address for she appeared nothing like we expected. Lillian was tall, looked very healthy and certainly did not appear to be 85-years-old at that time. She still looked very much like she did in her childhood photos.
I understand Lillian's health has been failing as of late (she'll be 96 in October) so let us hope she recovers.
If I can answer any more questions about Lillian or her family, I'll be happy to try.
Best regards,
Mike Findlay
