Nellie Napier's family doesn't want her to be the nameless ninth casualty of a peanut butter Salmonella outbreak that has swept the nation.
The 80-year-old resident of Medina County, Ohio, was a die-hard Cleveland Indians fan and a loving grandmother to 13 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. She was quiet -- even shy -- but she was very well-liked by everyone she met and she had lots of friends.
Most importantly, she is the woman who struggled on her own in the 1960s and 70s to raise five sons and one daughter on a meager income -- too proud to accept government assistance. For part of that time she was making 98 cents an hour at a latex factory. When her eldest son was old enough, he went to work to help pay the mortgage.
That's the story Nellie's son Randy told the Akron Beacon Journal newspaper in a story that ran this weekend.
"She dedicated her life to raising us,'' he said.
Mrs. Napier died January 26 from sepsis due to Salmonella. She had been living in a long-term care facility and regularly ate peanut butter to help regulate her blood sugar.
The family chose Fred Pritzker of national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen Attorneys to represent them in a peanut butter wrongful death action against Peanut Corporation of America, the maker of the peanut butter and the company that federal authorities have identified as the cause of the outbreak. Pritzker’s other clients in the outbreak include the families of two Minnesota women who also died after eating peanut butter in assisted living centers.
Randy Napier told the Beacon Journal that his family -- like other PritzkerOlsen clients -- are outraged and will fight for new food safety laws to protect American families from adulterated products.
“She was very well liked by everyone she met and would not harm a flea,'' Randy Napier said.

Labels: Ohio peanut butter salmonella attorney, Ohio Salmonella deaths, Peanut Corporation of America lawsuit