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AA
AMERICAN AIRLINES
CABLE ADDRESS AMAIR
100 PARK AVENUE  NEW YORK 17, NEW YORK

July 5, 1955

Mr. E. R. Silliman
Compania Mexicana de Aviacion, S. A.
Balderas 36 - Apartado Postal 901
Mexico, D. F.

Dear Tubby:

As you know, Silliman had not been well for the past year or two and did suffer several heart attacks, but each time he was put to rest and seemed to recover, although he continued to lose weight and aged substantially in the last year. He was up for our April Board meeting, and while in New York suffered an attack and was taken to Doctors' Hospital for a week or ten days.

Returning home, he rested as much as possible, and when Amon passed away, he insisted on coming to Fort Worth for the funeral. I met him at the airport and accompanied him to the Home and then to the services. I thought he looked very tired and was quite emotional over the loss of Amon.

Later in the evening, many of his old friends called by the Club, and he spent an enjoyable evening with them reminiscing over the old days.

I took him to his room about 11:00 P.M. and left a call for 6:30 in the morning, as we were going to breakfast together at 7:00 and proceed to the airport at 8:00. When he did not answer the telephone, I went across the hall, found his door open, and went in to awaken him; and there found that he had passed away during the night. I called the doctors and they established that he had died of a heart attack some five or six hours before I found him. Silliman, Jr. and little Amon Evans were on another floor, so I called them to my apartment and from there took over to make all the arrangements, and we flew the body back to Nashville on Monday and the services were held Wednesday.

He died peacefully, and as Lucille and the boys said, if he had to go, he would have prescribed just such a last evening, for he had paid respect to a man he idolized, and then had joined with old friends in spending an enjoyable evening, and then passed away in Texas and at the Club where he had lived for so long.