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CHAPTER 8
The Last Decade:
Losses and Assessment of a Lifetime of Activism
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1937, WHEN FJD, Julia and Ruth were headed to the Hague for one of the International Bar Association meetings,
Julia got sick on the ship as they crossed the Atlantic. The staff doctor on board the Holland-American Line ship
wanted to bleed Julia with leeches;
Ruth refused to allow it. A fellow passenger who was a physician and friend
of the family agreed that Julia should not be bled, but Julia's condition did not improve. After arriving in Holland,
the doctor who visited Julia in the hotel found that kidney stones had been causing her intense pain. Julia remained
with a nurse in the hotel, and Ruth went down to the Holland-American offices to see about booking passage home
as soon as Julia was well enough to leave. After about two weeks, the three sailed back to New York and immediately
went to Atlantic City where Julia could recuperate. It was too hot in New Orleans to return there and too difficult
and long a trip for Julia to make until she regained strength. FJD telephoned Julius and told him to have the house
centrally air-conditioned before the three returned, although Ruth returned before her parents to take care of
other family concerns.
Julia never recovered fully. After the initial problems with her kidneys,
she suffered a variety of other ailments, including a painful bout with shingles complicated by high blood pressure.
When she finally underwent surgery for her kidneys, it was too late, even though Dr. Alton Ochsner performed the
operation. Ruth remained at her side at Touro. FJD was in a terrible condition, extremely concerned about his wife.
Julia's health had been deteriorating for seven years when the tragic California automobile accident killed Vera.
Not long after Ruth returned from La Jolla, Julia died.
FJD's reaction can be summed up simply from his biographical outline. His last written entry was dated "My
wife died." By this time, Julius had remarried a then-recent widow, Ruth Simon Bissinger, and they built a
house on lona. Ruth kept her father company. In the evening, the two listened to music on the radio in the solarium.
His favorites were Italian opera and the New York Symphony. They also traveled together in the United States, but
since World War II was raging, they did not go abroad.
When George returned from the army, he took FJD to the office in the morning. In the evening, FJD took the Freret
Street bus or the streetcar (except in winter), since he wanted to return home earlier than his son. One afternoon,
as he walked home from Freret Street, he fell, and fortunately, Walter Barnett was passing and gave him a ride
home. FJD recovered easily, but from then on, Ruth insisted that Freddy go down to the office to drive him home.
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