Aida Woods, also known as Jean Watson, age 92, passed away on Friday, January 28, 2005. She was one of the last known survivors of the Eastland Disaster. Jean was born May 17, 1912, and lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico at the time of her death.

In 1915, Jean and her family lived in Cicero near Kostner Avenue and Cermak Road. She was aboard the Eastland when it capsized and upon being rescued, dried off and took an elevated train home - without shoes on her feet.

While we never had the opportunity to meet Jean personally, we did develop a friendly relationship with her over the phone. She was also kind enough to grant us permission to videotape an interview with her from her home in Las Cruces. In July 2000, a portion of the videotaped interview with Jean was played during the EDHS commemoration of the 85th anniversary of the Eastland Disaster. Through this videotape replay, Jean was one of four survivors who were our very special guests of honor.

Our fondest memory of Jean is a phone conversation in which she explained why she changed her name from Aida (pronounced Aid-ah) Woods to Jean Watson: When she was young and growing up, the kids in her neighborhood constantly called her "Aida Potata" (Aid-ah potay-tah), a nickname for which she did not care.

With Jean's passing, we are now aware of but one survivor of the Eastland Disaster who is still living.