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- Born about 10 minutes after his twin -- about 5:05 PM. Died of lukemia, possibly a result of an x-ray taken to see if his mother was bearing twins. Later medical research revealed x-rays should never be used on a pregnant woman.
The last time his mother saw Richard alive, he was getting into an ambulance. He had become sick, again, and his mother sent him to the hospital in an ambulance while she arranged for someone to take care of her other three children, ages 22 months to 5 years. She remembered him waving to her and saying, "Bye-bye, Mommie." By the time arrangements were made for the other children, his father arrived from work with the car. They were living in New Jersey, but the hospital was in New York City. By the time they arrived at the hospital, Richard was dead. Margaret related this story to her daughter-in-law, Mary. She did so with such deep emotion that she was never able to say it to her son.
Cremated. Ashes kept at Rosehill Cemetary and Crematory, Route 25, Linden, NJ. Both of his parents later placed in the same niche. Parents saved, for all their lives, the receipt for engraving the urn -- Richard Conrad Droste, October 23, 1951 July 16, 1953. Receipt was for $8.40, dated August 18, 1953, with a signature that it was paid in full on Sept 2, 1953. My parents would never have been able to bear the pain if it were not for one another.
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1951 - 1953 (1 years)