Anne
had taken the Lusitania home
and
since it had been a pleasant crossing,
she chose to sail back on the same liner. She carried with her
the formulas she
intended on being patented. Her family came down to the pier to
see her off.
Since there was a delay in sailing, they arranged to take her picture
on the B-deck promenade that was near her cabin B-98. The one
thing she
had not been able to do before she sailed was to locate her husband in
order to
start divorce proceedings. Her actions aboard the Lusitania are unknown; however,
when the ship was struck, she may have been calmed by the fact that
the passengers were told that the ship would not sink immediately and
went down
to her cabin to grab her jewelry. Her body was among the first
recovered and
was numbered 66.
The jewelry found on her body was estimated to be worth $3,900. It was handed over to a Mr. Thompson who was Vice-Consul, American Consulate, Queenstown. Her jewelry was lost in transit between Cork and the American Embassy in London. Shymer's remains were sent home on the steamer Philadelphia. Grace Justice-Hankins and her daughter Maibelle Heikes Justice filed claims for lost property and for the formulas that Anne was bringing with her. Robert Shimer heard about his wife's loss and filed a claim for $50,000. Grace Justice-Hankins passed away in 1924, before a judgement was ruled. Commissioner Edwin Parker immediately dismissed Robert Shimer's case as he and Anne had not lived together as husband and wife since 1911. Parker noted that since the chemist had not filed for a patent for her inventions, and that he could not award her estate any money for these. He rendered his decision on October 30, 1925 and awarded her estate $7,527, which had previously been awarded $3,900 for the missing jewelry. Her mother's estate received $7,500 as did her sister Maibelle.