Diptheria, a Source of Grief in Our Family

Robert and Myrtle Gregg

My parents, Myrtle and John Robert Gregg, celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in 1974. They had six children, and five of them lived into their mature years. One child, Bobby Joe, died of diphtheria before he was two years old. Since our pictures were destroyed in a house fire in 1960, we have almost no pictures of Bobby Joe. Here is one little view of him. 

We had a  photo of him taken a few months  before his death. My parents had taken it somewhere and had it colorized. The background was ethereal pastels. They kept that picture in their bedroom on the wall above the fireplace. I don't think they ever stopped grieving for Bobby Joe, and when the house burned Mother cried until she was sick because she lost that picture. 

Dad told me he was the smartest baby they had. Dad used to make certain mannerisms and Bobby Joe would imitate him. None of the rest of us ever held our mouths that way. (Ironically, my daughter Christie has this mannerism, even though she never saw anyone make it. My dad passed away not long after Christie was born.)

Bobby Joe's hair was a crown of soft curls, and my parents assured us he was better looking than the rest of us. I wonder what he would have done in his adult life.

I still have something left of Bobby Joe: the memories of the stories my parents told and the picture to the left. He's in there. This is the Riley family reunion photograph, which I believe was taken in the summer of 1930. Mother and Dad are standing slightly to the right of the center. Mother is holding baby Bobby Joe, and John is standing on the front row slightly to the right.

Someone has written some names on the photograph. My beloved Riley cousin, Barbara Riley Martin, and I have been trying to analyze the photo and put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Using a cropping tool, I clipped the Greggs from the Riley reunion picture. My father is on the top row, my mother is standing in front of him and holding the baby, and John is standing in front. 

Bobby Joe died from diphtheria when he was twenty months of age. John, who was better known as Edwin until he joined the Marines, also suffered from diphtheria. Mother saved his life.   

An artist is enhancing this picture, and I will show it to you when he finishes.