Personal Tragedy: The Death of Pernecy Greaves
The influenza pandemic of World War I is the most deadly calamity in human history. It infected 500 million people and killed 50-100 million. The flu was carried to all parts of the world by the extensive travel during and after World War I.
The pandemic took the life of Joseph Greaves' first wife, Pernecy Dudley Greaves, age 36. She left five small children: Dudley, age 10 Florence, age 9 Pernecy, age 5 Vera, age 4 Mary, age 1 The loss devastated Joseph. Joseph's sister, Vera Carter Lewis, recalled, "Before Pernecy died, Joe taught Sunday school and was very religious. After Pernecy died he said, 'No God would have taken a mother with five children.' He was bitter. He was very close to Apostle Widstoe and if Pernecy had not died Joe would have become president of the College. (He didn't because he lost his fervent attachment to the Mormon Church after his first wife died.) It was planned." (Vera Carter Lewis, 1994) Joseph Greaves lost his opportunity to become president of Utah State Agricultural College; however, he devoted much of the rest of his career to understanding bacteria and infectious diseases, and preventing death by infectious disease. For example, in the 1929 typhoid fever outbreak in Brigham City, Utah, Dr. Greaves discovered the source of the typhoid fever and saved many lives. |