Posted on 03/08/2004 6:45:16 AM PST by BikePacker
John Henry Williams, the controversial son of baseball Hall of Fame slugger Ted Williams, has joined his father in having his body frozen at an Arizona cryogenic laboratory after losing the battle against acute myelogenous leukemia, the Herald has learned.
``I think it's safe to assume that John Henry is with Ted,'' said a source close to the Williams family. ``Wherever Ted is you can assume that John Henry is with him.''
John Henry Williams, 35, died Saturday night in a California hospital with his sister, Claudia, and mother Dorothy, at his bedside, sources said.
His remains were taken to the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Arizona where Ted Williams' body was frozen after his death on July 5, 2002.
John Henry and Claudia Williams were the targets of ridicule and scorn after it was revealed that they entered into an agreement with their father to have their remains frozen with the hope of one day being brought back.
The Splendid Splinter's oldest daughter, Barbara Joyce Ferrell, has waged a bitter battle to recover her father's remains, claiming Ted Williams stated in his will he wanted to be cremated. Later, her half-siblings produced a handwritten statement purportedly signed by her father saying he wanted his body to go to Alcor.
Ferrell's husband, Mark, said yesterday the couple still plans to file suit ``in the next 10 days'' in U.S. District Court in Arizona to make Alcor produce documentation that Ted Williams consented to have his remains interred at the cryogenic lab.
``John Henry did this,'' Mark Ferrell said. ``We have to fight Alcor.''
The only son of Major League Baseball's greatest hitter was trying to forge a minor league career when he was diagnosed with leukemia last summer. John Henry had also entered into a business with his father to sell Ted Williams memorabilia, in which some critics charged he was using his father's legacy for his own financial gain.
Albert Cassidy, the executor of Ted Williams' estate, would not confirm that John Henry had joined his father at Alcor, where officials did not return telephone messages yesterday.
Cassidy said the backlash directed at John Henry and his sister was unfounded.
``What a great love story between father and son,'' Cassidy said. ``When Ted was ill, John Henry took care of him every day. John Henry was his son and everybody knew Ted loved that kid. It bothered me that such an issue was made of a private family matter. To turn John Henry into a bad guy was devastating. I couldn't understand why that would be.''
According to sources, Claudia Williams donated stem cells that were transplanted into her ailing brother in an unsuccessful bid to control his leukemia.
``He did everything he could to fight it,'' said the family source.
miserable failure miserable failure miserable failure miserable failure war criminal
miserable failure miserable failure miserable failure miserable failure war criminal
John Henry forced his dying father to sign autograph after autograph, then made his father a national joke by having his head frozen. I can't imagine why anybody would think he was a bad guy. (/sarcasm)
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