Walt's parents. Elias & Flora moved to Portland to be close with relatives that lived in the Rose City. The photo of the home on the corner was the residence of the senior Disney's. Walt & his brother Roy wanted them living in southern California to be closer with the grand children. This was a decision that haunted Walt & Roy all of their lives.

What was the greatest tragedy in Walt's life?



Walt never answered this question, so it's impossible to know for sure. But based on interviews with most of his closest family members, it's possible to make a reasonable guess. Though he had many business failures -- particularly early in his life -- he would not have considered any of them tragic. In fact, he had a firm belief that every young person should have a failure or two. One such event was the acrimonious strike that hit his studio in 1941. It was terribly unpleasant for Walt -- and it changed his relationship with his employees for the rest of his life. But as unhappy a time as the strike was, it seems likely that the most painful event was his mother's death in November 1938. Walt and Roy had purchased a home for their parents some months before. Flora had been complaining about the gas furnace. Walt sent a studio handyman to fix it, but he didn't do an adequate job. Early one morning, poisonous fumes spread through the house. The couple's housekeeper began to get woozy and checked on the couple upstairs. She found Elias lying in the hall. Flora was on the bathroom floor. They were able to rescue Elias, but it was too late for Walt's beloved mother. Many years later, according to his daughter Sharon, Walt still found the subject nearly impossible to talk about.

Relatives of Walt Disney live in Portland to this day.



Elias & Flora Disney...Parents of Walt