Local Titanic dedication today

It’s been 97 years since the RMS Titanic sank in the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, and now Spokane will have its own memorial to the disaster, with a connection to the Lilac City.

The Fairmount Memorial Association, the Spokane Police Department History Book Committee and the Spokane Law Enforcement Museum will dedicate its 10th historic memorial in the Fairmount Memorial Park on the anniversary of the sinking of the unsinkable Wednesday at 2 p.m.

When the Titanic sank, it took with it Margaret Rice, the widow of William, a machinist who worked for the Great Northern Railroad. He was killed after an accident in the Hillyard area when a tank car he was working on was struck by another train car.

William Rice was buried at Fairmount Cemetery in 1910.

Also on the Titanic was John Henry Chapman, who had lived in Spokane and worked at Fairmount Cememtery. Chapman was returning to the U.S. after marrying his childhood sweetheart in England.

Also on board the Titanic was Charles M. Hays, William Rice’s employer from when his family lived in Montreal working for the Grand Trunk Railway.

For more information about the dedication of this memorial, call Fairmount Memorial Park at (509) 326-6813.