Dec. 6, 2014 â She was just three years old when she walked onto the S.S. Eastland and into Chicago history. She survived the capsizing on the Chicago River, between Clark and LaSalle Streets, that claimed 844 lives and she went on to live another 99 years.
Marion A. Eichholz was the last known survivor of the 1915 Eastland disaster. She died on November 24 at age 102.
On July 24, 1915, Marion and her parents were on the upper deck of the Eastland when it listed, causing her to fall against a railing. Her mother, Anna, pulled her back and as passengers started to panic, Marionâs father, Fred, picked her up, stepped onto the railing and jumped into the river. Holding Marion in one arm, he swam to a nearby tugboat.
When the Eastland rolled over, her mother floated into the water and was rescued when someone threw her a rope.