Unhappy Retirement

A woman’s great-uncle dies mysteriously after moving to paradise.

A woman’s great-uncle mysteriously died right after he and his wife moved from Portland to Los Angeles in 1929, presumably to retire in the sunshine. By 1930, the aunt was listed as a widow in the phone book, and no one in the family ever discussed what happened.

The great-uncle had spent much of his career working as a sales representative for the Star Car—a creation of former General Motors CEO, William Durant. The Star Car was rumored to be the car of the future, with ads boasting its unparalleled power and ability to climb the steepest of hills. It was also priced so the average family could afford it.

I created a detailed timeline of key events in the great-uncle’s life, along with important world events. Through directory listings and old maps, I concluded that the couple hadn’t moved to California to retire, but to open a car dealership one month before the Stock Market Crash of 1929. I tracked down his elusive death certificate, which listed his cause of death as “suicidal knife wound to neck” on October 30, 1929—the day after Black Tuesday.

The couple had sold their Portland home and invested everything in their move to California, only to lose everything. They may have also asked family and friends to buy stock in the Star Car, which would have plummeted in value. Within a month, his widow had moved back to Portland and was running a boarding house.