On February 12, 1920, the Jesuit House Diarist noted that "The influenza is raging in some parts of the country." He added that a trained nurse had come from Washington, D. C., to Prep in order help with the students who were sick. He was quick to emphasize that none of the students were seriously ill. He no doubt wrote with a sense of relief because earlier that month, on February 4, a Prep student, Lewis Rutherfurd, whose brother Winthrop was also a student at the New Prep, had died from complications (pneumonia) stemming from the flu. Students felt Lewis's loss deeply. In a moving and heartfelt piece entitled, "In Memoriam," the editors of the Newprep News wrote:
"None of us will forget the mingled hope and grief of those days and the fervent prayers we said for his recovery. God knows best; on the morning of February 4, He took Lewis to Himself. Much we might say; this contains it all – we loved Lewis."