A document came in the mail today from the MN Historical Society. It was a copy of the death certificate for my Uncle Marvin, who had died in childhood. All I knew about him was that he was 10 when he died, he had leukemia, and had a favorite nurse at the U of M where he had had some treatment.
The one or two pictures that I have seen of him were of a blond little boy, with a big scarf wrapped around his neck to cover up a tumor on his neck, sitting next to his nurse, and he was wearing a huge sweater that looked hand knit. I have a small headshot of Uncle Marvin, probably cut from a copy of the larger picture. My brother David looked just like Marvin at that age. Probably one of the many reasons my grandparents doted on him.
That’s all I know. Uncle Marvin just wasn’t talked about. My dad won’t say anything when asked, and my mom filled me in on the few details that I have — it’s all she knows.
When I found out I could get his birth and death certificate through the MN Historical Society, I decided to order copies. I wanted to have some documentation of this mystery family member to go with the small picture I have of him. I have no idea if there were other pictures. My Aunt Phyllis had all the family pictures, and never responded to my request to get some copies of the pictures. She died two years ago, and the pictures are long gone, I guess.
At least have something other than a small picture — Uncle Marvin’s death certificate. The death certificate revealed some new information.
Uncle Marvin was 9 years and 2 months old when he died — right to the day. His birthday was 9/27/1932 and his death date 11/27/1941. He was buried on 12/1/1941. Lymphosarcoma has been the contributing reason for his death — whether it was Hodgkins or Non-Hodgkins, it doesn’t say. There may have not been that designation in the 1940’s.
He had had lymphosarcoma for 2 1/2 years — so he must have been diagnosed when he was 6 1/2 years old. He died in Grove City, the small town near my grandparent’s farm. The actual cause of death was pressure on the neck and mediastinum. Which, according to what I’ve been able to figure out, means he suffocated to death, under the weight of his tumor.
What I’ve been able to figure out, thanks to the internet, Uncle Marvin’s cancer is pretty survivable these days. One site has the survival rate at 75% with some standard treatments. Not perfect, but darn good.
All this makes me wonder what it would have been like if Uncle Marvin hadn’t gotten sick, hadn’t died. Would he have stayed on the farm? Would he have moved to the Cities like his big brother? Would he have been in the military and have seen action in Korea or done service in Japan or Germany? Would I have cousins and another aunt? So many questions, and absolutely no answers.
All I have is a little bit of documentation of a short life. It will have to do.