During the Blitz and the evacuation of thousands of Americans from the U.K, Converse fell ill with a bout of influenza that he never fully recovered from. When his condition worsened, he was granted leave and evacuated to Washington D.C, where his condition continued to worsen. Despite initially improving, he succumbed to the influenza on April 14th, 1940. Mr. Converse’s obituary in several papers described Mr. Converse being “over-taxed” by his “heavy duty” of getting American citizens home during the war and this being partially responsible for his ill-health.
Converse, Laura Trice. Telegraphs Received
- Encouraging News
A Telegraph from "Mary and "Slick" rejoicing over good news of Charles recovery. From Charles A. Converse Papers, 1939-1940. Valdosta Special Collections. http://hdl.handle.net/10428/3038
Converse, Laura Trice. Telegraphs Received
- Mary and Slick Telegraph
A Telegraph from Mary and Slick having been alerted to the news of Charles' passing. From Charles A. Converse Papers, 1939-1940. Valdosta Special Collections. http://hdl.handle.net/10428/3038
Converse, Charles A. Memorial Book
- Converse, Charles A. Memorial Book
This book includes details about the memorial service of Mr. Converse, such as the hymns sung, the people in attendance, and other data. But this book also includes several obituaries from various cities that Converse was known in, such as Valdosta, D.C, Tampa, and even Cape Town South Africa. Many of these obituaries are similar and parrot the same details about Charles and his life. The last obituary, however, provides one key detail about Mr. Converse. He was an avid baseball player, a little detail that may not have meant much to include, but surely would have been touching to those who knew him.
From Charles A. Converse Papers 1939-1940. Valdosta Special Collections http://hdl.handle.net/10428/3018
Converse, Laura Trice. Telegraphs Received
- From London Telegraph
A Telegraph all the way from London sent on behalf of Charles' coworkers, expressing their sympathies over his passing. From Charles A. Converse Papers, 1939-1940. Valdosta Special Collections. http://hdl.handle.net/10428/3038
An assortment of telegrams from family friends and relatives of the Converses that range in sentiment from wishing Charles a speedy recovery and well wishes to expressing sorrow and grief over the family’s loss. Various different families reached out to the family expressing their loss, and their locations vary from local to London. These are only a few of the telegraphs that the Converse family received. It is clear that Mr. Converse was not just deeply cared about locally, but abroad as well.
