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Sunday, 20 April 2008 July 22, 1920 ~ january 24, 1977 Julia Wootten Scott Thompson was born in Chickasha, Grady Co., Oklahoma on 22 July 1920 to Julia Wootten and Harry Murphy Scott. Julia Wootten Scott was the fourth out of eight children of Richard Kelly Wootten III and his wife, Effie Dalton Scales. She died at the age of 25 soon after giving birth to her only child. Julia Wootten Scott's childless sister, Effie "Hannah" Wootten and her husband, Bertrum Price Siddons, took the baby Julia and reared her in their home. When Julia Wootten Scott was nineteen years of age, she was touring Europe when war was imminent between England and Germany. On Setember 3, 1939 Julia was returning to America on the British liner, Athenia, when it was torpedoed by a German submarine. A week later an article appeared in The Daily Oklahoman with several quotes concerning Julia's experiences in the lifeboat that showed her dry wit. Her tip to wartime ocean travelers was that they should never wear toeless shoes to sea since they weren't much help when trying to bail out a lifeboat. The lifeboat on which she found herself had mostly passengers from other countries who spoke no English. A Polish woman holding a little girl fainted and fell overboard. The little girl grabbed onto Julia causing all three women to go overboard. Julia remarked that she had always heard that salt water was good for the complexion so she should be a raving beauty, but she was not. Another theory had been exploded. Julia Wootten Scott Thompson married several times and had at least two children, Julia Wootten Sage Henry and Sharon Wootten Stafford Cooper. She died in Albuquerque, New Mexico on January 24, 1977 at the age of 56. |