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Walt's Story: Episode 7
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Marjorie and Dorothy
Marjorie Sewell (left) and Dorthy Disney

Walt loved children. Before he had his own, his nieces, Dorothy (brother Herb's daughter) and Marjorie (sister-in-law Hazel's daughter) were recipients of his affectionate generosity. "Aunt Lilly made me clothes for my dolls," said Marjorie. "And Uncle Walt gave me skates and scooters and all the exciting things." In 1930, Hazel and Marjorie moved in with Walt and Lilly, and Walt acted the father role to the hilt. If Marjorie came home late, Walt would be waiting for her at the top of the stairs when she opened the door. Much to Walt and Lilly's dismay, their first two pregnancies ended in miscarriages. The third time around, in 1933, Walt wrote to his mother, "Lilly is partial to a baby girl. I, personally, don't care -- just as long as we do not get disappointed again." They weren't. On December 18, 1933, Diane Marie Disney was born.
 
Weeks before Diane was born, Walt wrote, "I've made a lot of vows that my kid won't be spoiled, but I doubt it -- it may turn out to be the most spoiled brat in the country." Walt's initial tendency was to surround his daughter with toys and games -- Christmas of 1934 featured a giant tree and a sea of presents. But true to his vow, he didn't spoil her. "Dad realized after a time that the more you want things, the better you like them," Diane said. Walt wanted more children, and when Lilly suffered another miscarriage they decided to adopt. In January 1937, two-week-old Sharon Mae Disney entered the family. The girls had little idea their father was famous. "We weren't raised with the idea that this was a great man," said Sharon. "He was Daddy."
Walt, Lilly, and Diane
Walt, Lilly, and Diane
 
Walt reads to Sharon and Diane
Walt reading from Pinocchio to Sharon (left) and Diane
It would have been easy to get newspaper photographers to cluster around little Diane and Sharon sitting on Mickey Mouse's lap or attending a new cartoon. But Walt and Lilly kept the girls out of the public eye, both for their safety and out of a desire for privacy. This was an incredibly busy time for Walt. He was churning out Mickey Mouse cartoons and Silly Symphonies that garnered a host of Academy Awards. And by the time Sharon entered the family, he had thrown himself thoroughly into work on Snow White, even while thinking about other feature-length animated films that might follow. In 1937, Walt and Roy grew concerned about their parents who had been running a rooming house in Portland. Their health wasn't great, and the boys could afford to buy them a house in California and hire a housekeeper to help take care of it.
 
The gas heating in the house wasn't properly installed. Flora had complained that the furnace wasn't operating well, and Walt sent studio repairmen to fix it. But they didn't succeed. So, on the morning of November 26, 1938, gas fumes spread through their home. When Elias woke up, he found his wife's body on the bathroom floor. He passed out himself trying to carry her to another room. When their housekeeper began to feel dizzy she rushed to check on them, found them both unconscious, and got a neighbor to help her get them out of the house. It was too late for Flora. Elias survived, but never completely recovered. And though nobody knows precisely how he felt, it would appear that Walt never got over the tragedy either. Years later, he wouldn't even talk to Sharon about it. Elias' and Flora's 50th anniversary
Elias and Flora at their 50th anniversary in January 1938. In November of that year, Flora died from gas fumes caused by a leaky furnace
 
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