 The Marshalls never officially adopted Morrison because they believed that to go through the procedure while his parents were still living would appear unusual to the public . Wanting to keep the situation private , they instead made a special arrangement with his parents . President Wilson felt obliged to acknowledge the boy as theirs and sent the couple a note that simply said , " With congratulations to the baby . Wilson " . Morrison lived with the Marshalls for the rest of his life . In correspondence they referred to him as Morrison Marshall , but in person they called him Izzy . Lois took him to see many doctors and spent all her available time trying to nurse him back to health , but his condition worsened and he died in February 1920 , just before his fourth birthday . His death devastated Marshall , who wrote in his memoir that Izzy " was and is and ever will be so sacred to me ... " . 
