Jirdes Winther Baxter, Last Known Survivor of Nome Diphtheria Outbreak, Dies at 101

Jirdes Winther Baxter, the last known survivor of a 1925 diphtheria epidemic in Nome, Alaska, died in Juneau on Jan. 5. She was 101, and her death in a hospital was confirmed by her son, Fred J. Baxter. The 1925 outbreak prompted a nearly 700-mile sled dog relay to deliver lifesaving antitoxin to the isolated gold-rush town.

Dr. Curtis Welch, the town’s only doctor, instituted a quarantine as cases mounted and arranged to have 300,000 units of antitoxin sent by train to Nenana, then carried 674 miles by about 20 mushers and roughly 150 dogs in what became known as the Serum Run. The package arrived in Nome after five days and seven hours on Feb.

2; the serum was frozen but was thawed and administered to the sick. Medical records copied by her son indicate that Jirdes Winther, then 11 months old, was hospitalized in Nome on Jan. 30 with diphtheria and received experimental doses of expired antitoxin on Jan. 30 and 31 before the new serum arrived; her mother and one brother later received the fresh serum.

The three stricken Winthers were released from quarantine on Feb. 25, her first birthday. Born Feb. 25, 1924, in Nome to Norwegian-born parents, Ms. Winther Baxter later moved with her family to Seattle and then Juneau. She worked for Alaska’s lieutenant governor in the 1960s and for the State Department of Revenue, married Fred G.

Key Topics

Health, Jirdes Winther Baxter, Nome, Serum Run, Diphtheria, Curtis Welch