The opinion of the court was delivered by: Bauer, District Judge.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
This cause comes pursuant to the report and recommendations
of a magistrate in accordance with Rule 1, subd. D (2)(a)(i)
of the Magistrate Rules of the Northern District of Illinois.
This is an action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405, 1395,
for judicial review of a final decision of the Secretary of
Health, Education and Welfare which denies payment of surviving
divorced mother's benefits, disabled wage earner benefits and
disabled widow's insurance benefits; 42 U.S.C. § 402 and 423.
The magistrate recommends that the final decisions of the
Secretary be affirmed and that this Court enter an order
granting defendant's motion for summary judgment.
It is the opinion of this Court that the report and
recommendations of the magistrate are proper.
PETITIONER'S FACTUAL BACKGROUND
1. Pearl R. Johnson, petitioner was born December 13, 1913
in Minnesota and presently resides in Elmhurst, Illinois. She
was first married in 1936, which ended in divorce five years
later. She married the deceased wage earner, Steve Johnson, on
July 13, 1946. Approximately fifteen months later, on October
25, 1947, they were divorced.
2. During the marriage of petitioner and wage earner, one
son, Steven Gerald, was born, on September 15, 1946.
Subsequent to their divorce proceedings, another son, Keith
Karl, was born to petitioner on October 6, 1949. The wage
earner died in an airplane crash on October 4, 1958.
4. Petitioner received $6,000 from a probable settlement,
$7,000 from a whiplash personal injury settlement, and
currently receives disability payments from the State of
Illinois.
SUMMARY OF PRIOR ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS
Petitioner has filed several applications for support
benefits since the death of her second husband. She has
requested statutory status as a:
1. divorced mother for survivor's insurance
benefits pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 402;
petitioner filed an application for benefits on
November 5, 1965 wherein it is claimed the
deceased wage earner contributed $4,800 per
year to the children and to her, contributed
twenty to thirty dollars weekly for groceries,
and made irregular house payments;
2. disabled wage earner wherein the petitioner
claims on her application, filed October 10,
1969, that she is within the recognized
status of disability since April, 1966,
because of chronic emphysema and whiplash;
and
3. disabled widow for insurance benefits from
the deceased wage earner's account whereby
the petitioner claimed double lung collapse
since July, 1958 and chronic whiplash.
The administrative decisions affecting these three
applications for benefits demonstrate petitioner's failure ...