BATH — Merrien Josephine Cushman was a few weeks shy of her 14th birthday in 1927 when Bath was devastated by the school bombing that claimed the lives of 45 people, many of them children, and injured 58.
She died July 18 at age 100, leaving a legacy that proves the human spirit can be very resilient, even under the most horrible circumstances.
With good grades, Cushman didn’t have to go to school that fateful day in May. She asked her 7-year-old brother, Ralph, if he wanted her to walk him there, as she usually did.
He declined, not wanting the other kids to tease him, according to Cushman’s daughter-in-law, Barbara Vail.
Cushman was picking flowers when she heard the explosion that took Ralph’s life.
She wondered afterward what might have happened if she’d gone with her brother that day.
In 1927 there were no grief counselors in schools or suggestions on how to help children deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But Josephine Cushman went on to lead a full and happy life, marrying Clare Vail and raising a family of five daughters and two sons.
Bath Historical Society secretary Susan Hagerman, whose father and two aunts were injured in the bombing, said she looked forward to seeing Vail each May when survivors were recognized at a special gathering.
“She had a very pretty smile,” Hagerman said. “It was always good to see her.”
Barbara Vail says her mother-in-law was a woman of great determination that could border on stubbornness. It stood her in good stead.
“You just have to make up your mind to get through it, if you want to go on,” she said to her children when they had tough times. “There’s no other choice.”
The 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma pushed the Bath disaster to the forefront of Cushman’s mind again after years of hard work and child rearing, according to Barbara Vail, but the memory didn’t vanquish her.
In fact Josephine Cushman was able to live in her own home up until the last year or so when she moved in with and was cared for by Barbara and her husband, Hewitt. Other family members helped, too, with Cushman looking forward to car rides and ice cream cones with daughter, Joyce Svendsen and her husband, Glenn, as just one example.
∼Merrian "Josephine" (Cushman) Vail
Bath, Michigan
Merrian "Josephine" (Cushman) Vail, born June 1, 1913 in Bath, Michigan to Albert and Nellie May (Tyler) Cushman, passed away July 18, 2013 at age 100. Mrs. Vail was one of the last survivors of the Bath School Disaster. She loved her 7 children and their families, farming and painting. Her hobbies included painting, both china and oils. Josephine was preceded in death by her husband, Clare, in 2000; daughters, Betty Stull and Judy Blankenship; brother, Ralph Cushman; sister, Annabel Evert; and grandsons, Spencer Stull and Trevor Vail. Surviving to cherish her memory are her children, Joyce (Glenn) Svendsen, Nancy Miller, Martha (Dan) Sherman, Claude (Shirley) Vail and Hewitt (Barbara) Vail; many beloved grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Mrs. Vail's funeral will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, July 22, at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, 1730 East Grand River Avenue in East Lansing, with Rev. Brian West officiating. Family will receive friends on Sunday, July 21, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the funeral home and one hour prior to the funeral service on Monday. Those desiring may make contributions to Hospice Advantage, 801 S. Waverly, Suite 304, Lansing, MI 48917, in memory of Josephine Vail. Memories may be shared with the family at www.greastlansing.com.
She died July 18 at age 100, leaving a legacy that proves the human spirit can be very resilient, even under the most horrible circumstances.
With good grades, Cushman didn’t have to go to school that fateful day in May. She asked her 7-year-old brother, Ralph, if he wanted her to walk him there, as she usually did.
He declined, not wanting the other kids to tease him, according to Cushman’s daughter-in-law, Barbara Vail.
Cushman was picking flowers when she heard the explosion that took Ralph’s life.
She wondered afterward what might have happened if she’d gone with her brother that day.
In 1927 there were no grief counselors in schools or suggestions on how to help children deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But Josephine Cushman went on to lead a full and happy life, marrying Clare Vail and raising a family of five daughters and two sons.
Bath Historical Society secretary Susan Hagerman, whose father and two aunts were injured in the bombing, said she looked forward to seeing Vail each May when survivors were recognized at a special gathering.
“She had a very pretty smile,” Hagerman said. “It was always good to see her.”
Barbara Vail says her mother-in-law was a woman of great determination that could border on stubbornness. It stood her in good stead.
“You just have to make up your mind to get through it, if you want to go on,” she said to her children when they had tough times. “There’s no other choice.”
The 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma pushed the Bath disaster to the forefront of Cushman’s mind again after years of hard work and child rearing, according to Barbara Vail, but the memory didn’t vanquish her.
In fact Josephine Cushman was able to live in her own home up until the last year or so when she moved in with and was cared for by Barbara and her husband, Hewitt. Other family members helped, too, with Cushman looking forward to car rides and ice cream cones with daughter, Joyce Svendsen and her husband, Glenn, as just one example.
∼Merrian "Josephine" (Cushman) Vail
Bath, Michigan
Merrian "Josephine" (Cushman) Vail, born June 1, 1913 in Bath, Michigan to Albert and Nellie May (Tyler) Cushman, passed away July 18, 2013 at age 100. Mrs. Vail was one of the last survivors of the Bath School Disaster. She loved her 7 children and their families, farming and painting. Her hobbies included painting, both china and oils. Josephine was preceded in death by her husband, Clare, in 2000; daughters, Betty Stull and Judy Blankenship; brother, Ralph Cushman; sister, Annabel Evert; and grandsons, Spencer Stull and Trevor Vail. Surviving to cherish her memory are her children, Joyce (Glenn) Svendsen, Nancy Miller, Martha (Dan) Sherman, Claude (Shirley) Vail and Hewitt (Barbara) Vail; many beloved grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Mrs. Vail's funeral will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, July 22, at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, 1730 East Grand River Avenue in East Lansing, with Rev. Brian West officiating. Family will receive friends on Sunday, July 21, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the funeral home and one hour prior to the funeral service on Monday. Those desiring may make contributions to Hospice Advantage, 801 S. Waverly, Suite 304, Lansing, MI 48917, in memory of Josephine Vail. Memories may be shared with the family at www.greastlansing.com.
BATH — Merrien Josephine Cushman was a few weeks shy of her 14th birthday in 1927 when Bath was devastated by the school bombing that claimed the lives of 45 people, many of them children, and injured 58.
She died July 18 at age 100, leaving a legacy that proves the human spirit can be very resilient, even under the most horrible circumstances.
With good grades, Cushman didn’t have to go to school that fateful day in May. She asked her 7-year-old brother, Ralph, if he wanted her to walk him there, as she usually did.
He declined, not wanting the other kids to tease him, according to Cushman’s daughter-in-law, Barbara Vail.
Cushman was picking flowers when she heard the explosion that took Ralph’s life.
She wondered afterward what might have happened if she’d gone with her brother that day.
In 1927 there were no grief counselors in schools or suggestions on how to help children deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But Josephine Cushman went on to lead a full and happy life, marrying Clare Vail and raising a family of five daughters and two sons.
Bath Historical Society secretary Susan Hagerman, whose father and two aunts were injured in the bombing, said she looked forward to seeing Vail each May when survivors were recognized at a special gathering.
“She had a very pretty smile,” Hagerman said. “It was always good to see her.”
Barbara Vail says her mother-in-law was a woman of great determination that could border on stubbornness. It stood her in good stead.
“You just have to make up your mind to get through it, if you want to go on,” she said to her children when they had tough times. “There’s no other choice.”
The 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma pushed the Bath disaster to the forefront of Cushman’s mind again after years of hard work and child rearing, according to Barbara Vail, but the memory didn’t vanquish her.
In fact Josephine Cushman was able to live in her own home up until the last year or so when she moved in with and was cared for by Barbara and her husband, Hewitt. Other family members helped, too, with Cushman looking forward to car rides and ice cream cones with daughter, Joyce Svendsen and her husband, Glenn, as just one example.
∼Merrian "Josephine" (Cushman) Vail
Bath, Michigan
Merrian "Josephine" (Cushman) Vail, born June 1, 1913 in Bath, Michigan to Albert and Nellie May (Tyler) Cushman, passed away July 18, 2013 at age 100. Mrs. Vail was one of the last survivors of the Bath School Disaster. She loved her 7 children and their families, farming and painting. Her hobbies included painting, both china and oils. Josephine was preceded in death by her husband, Clare, in 2000; daughters, Betty Stull and Judy Blankenship; brother, Ralph Cushman; sister, Annabel Evert; and grandsons, Spencer Stull and Trevor Vail. Surviving to cherish her memory are her children, Joyce (Glenn) Svendsen, Nancy Miller, Martha (Dan) Sherman, Claude (Shirley) Vail and Hewitt (Barbara) Vail; many beloved grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Mrs. Vail's funeral will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, July 22, at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, 1730 East Grand River Avenue in East Lansing, with Rev. Brian West officiating. Family will receive friends on Sunday, July 21, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the funeral home and one hour prior to the funeral service on Monday. Those desiring may make contributions to Hospice Advantage, 801 S. Waverly, Suite 304, Lansing, MI 48917, in memory of Josephine Vail. Memories may be shared with the family at www.greastlansing.com.
She died July 18 at age 100, leaving a legacy that proves the human spirit can be very resilient, even under the most horrible circumstances.
With good grades, Cushman didn’t have to go to school that fateful day in May. She asked her 7-year-old brother, Ralph, if he wanted her to walk him there, as she usually did.
He declined, not wanting the other kids to tease him, according to Cushman’s daughter-in-law, Barbara Vail.
Cushman was picking flowers when she heard the explosion that took Ralph’s life.
She wondered afterward what might have happened if she’d gone with her brother that day.
In 1927 there were no grief counselors in schools or suggestions on how to help children deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But Josephine Cushman went on to lead a full and happy life, marrying Clare Vail and raising a family of five daughters and two sons.
Bath Historical Society secretary Susan Hagerman, whose father and two aunts were injured in the bombing, said she looked forward to seeing Vail each May when survivors were recognized at a special gathering.
“She had a very pretty smile,” Hagerman said. “It was always good to see her.”
Barbara Vail says her mother-in-law was a woman of great determination that could border on stubbornness. It stood her in good stead.
“You just have to make up your mind to get through it, if you want to go on,” she said to her children when they had tough times. “There’s no other choice.”
The 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma pushed the Bath disaster to the forefront of Cushman’s mind again after years of hard work and child rearing, according to Barbara Vail, but the memory didn’t vanquish her.
In fact Josephine Cushman was able to live in her own home up until the last year or so when she moved in with and was cared for by Barbara and her husband, Hewitt. Other family members helped, too, with Cushman looking forward to car rides and ice cream cones with daughter, Joyce Svendsen and her husband, Glenn, as just one example.
∼Merrian "Josephine" (Cushman) Vail
Bath, Michigan
Merrian "Josephine" (Cushman) Vail, born June 1, 1913 in Bath, Michigan to Albert and Nellie May (Tyler) Cushman, passed away July 18, 2013 at age 100. Mrs. Vail was one of the last survivors of the Bath School Disaster. She loved her 7 children and their families, farming and painting. Her hobbies included painting, both china and oils. Josephine was preceded in death by her husband, Clare, in 2000; daughters, Betty Stull and Judy Blankenship; brother, Ralph Cushman; sister, Annabel Evert; and grandsons, Spencer Stull and Trevor Vail. Surviving to cherish her memory are her children, Joyce (Glenn) Svendsen, Nancy Miller, Martha (Dan) Sherman, Claude (Shirley) Vail and Hewitt (Barbara) Vail; many beloved grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Mrs. Vail's funeral will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, July 22, at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, 1730 East Grand River Avenue in East Lansing, with Rev. Brian West officiating. Family will receive friends on Sunday, July 21, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the funeral home and one hour prior to the funeral service on Monday. Those desiring may make contributions to Hospice Advantage, 801 S. Waverly, Suite 304, Lansing, MI 48917, in memory of Josephine Vail. Memories may be shared with the family at www.greastlansing.com.
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