Imperial Valley press., 1919-01-06
Former President
Passes Away After
A Lenthy Illness
Physicians Says the Immediate Cause of Famous Mans
Death Was LOdgement in Lung of ClOt From Broken
Vein-Last Illness Really Dated From February s.;
Funeral Will Be Private
(By Associated Press)

New York, Dec. 6.-Theodore
Roosevelt died at his home in Oys-
ter Bay at o'clock this morning.
The news was received here by
Miss Josephine Strickler, the colonel's
secretary, in telephone message
from Mrs. Roosevelt.
1t is said the colonel suffered an
attack of inflammatory rheumatism
on New Years day and had since
been confined to his room.
(By Associated Press,
Oyster Bay, Jan. 6.-Theodore
Roosevelt died in his sleep early
today at his home at Sycamore Hill
in this village.
His death is believed to have been
due to rheumatism, which affected
his heart. None believed his illness
likely to prove fatal. The former
president sat up most of Sunday and
retired at II last night. About a
o'clock this morning, Mrs. Roosevelt,
the only other member of the fam
lily at Oyster Bay, went to her hus-
bands room and found he had died
during the night.
Mrs. Roosevelt telephonel Colonel
Emlen Roosevelt, cousin of the for
mer president and he came to the
Roosevelt home Immediately. Tele-
grams were dispatched to the colo
nel's children who were in other
parts of the country. Two sons
Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roose-
Welt and Captain Kermit Roosevelt
are in service abroad Captain Archie
Roosevelt and his wife left New
York for Boston Sunday night, where
the latter's father is i'll. Mrs. Ethel
Derbv and two children are in South
Carolina. '4
The former president came home
to Sycamore Hill from the Roosevelt
Hospital on Christmas Day. but a
week later was stricken with Sc
we're attack of rheumatism and sci
atica, from which he had suffered
for some time. The rheumatism af-
fected his right hand, which became
mn"h swollen.
Saturday the colonel's secretary,
Miss Josephine Strickler called. but
tho colonel was asleep in his room.
Miss Strickler said no one had an
idea that death was so near.
Flags are at half-mast in Oyster
Bay. The date of the funeral has
not vet been set, but it will be held
here and at the request of Mrs.
Roosevelt will be private. Two serv-
ices will be held-one at Sycamore
Hill and the other at Christ's church
here, which the Roosevelts for years
have attended. Rev. George Tai
r,adge, the pastor, is expected to Of
ficiate.
Colonel Roosevelt will be buried in
Young's Memorial cemetery here in
a plot selected by him shortly after
leaving the White House.
The immediate cause of Colonel
Roosevelt's death was pulmonary en-
bolism or Judgement in the lung sof
a clot from broken vein. One of
his physicians stated that the colo
nel's last illness may be dated from
February 5, when it was announced
that he had been removed from Oys-
ter Bay to the Roosevelt hospital in
New York. Following an operation
on one of his ears soon after his ar
rival at the hospital, he underwent
two more operations, for removal of
diseased tissue from the infected ear.
During June the colonel made num-
ber of addresses, speaking at Spring.
field, Mass, and at New York. Du-
ring the same month he made a
western tour, during which he suf-
fered from erysipelas in the leg.
Early in November he entered the
hospital for treatmenb for rheuma-
tism and while in the hospital reports
were current that he was more seri-
ously i'll than the physicians admit
ted. Colonel Roosevelt returned to
Oyster Bay Christmas, remarking
that he was 'feeling bully"