Luigi Pierpaoli, 1956 Andrea Doria Disaster Survivor, Dies from COVID-19-- Part 1

From the April 24, 2020, Chicago Tribune "Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus."

The Tribune is running a full page featuring these most deaths every day now.  It honors them and others who have died.

LUIGI PIERPAOLI, 96

Died April 6 of complications of the virus.

Survived one of the nation's most famous maritime disasters as passenger on the doomed Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria in 1956.  Afterwards, he rarely spoke of it.  His son, Maurizio said, "You had to pry it out of him.  He never went on a large boat again and has been scared of water ever since."

In 1956, he followed his older brother and came to the United States leaving his family behind until he could get established.  He booked passage on the ill-fated Andrea Doria in the summer of 1956.  As it approached New York, it collided with the passenger ship Stockholm and sank with 51 casualties between the two ships.

(The Stockholm is still afloat and taking on passengers, although this is supposed to be the last year of its operation.)

--Cooter