John Meis, 1895 Obituary

MEIS

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 1/24/2009 at 16:05:33

I translated the following obituary from Der Carroll Demokrat, a German-language newspaper published in Carroll, Iowa, between about 1874 and 1920. It was originally published on Friday, 19 April 1895. Any information in brackets or notes at the end are my own explanations. It reads as follows:

Last Friday evening John Meis died in Maple River Junction at the young age of 30 years. The deceased had already suffered for several weeks from influenza, but being of robust and strong constitution, neither he nor his relatives and friends suspected that the malicious sickness would lead to his death. As of late, “Onkel John,” as he was usually called by his nieces and nephews, had difficulty breathing, especially at night, which must have contributed to his death, which occurred as mentioned above. The burial was set for Monday, but had to be postponed to Tuesday morning due to the terrible weather. Although the roads were almost impassable due to the earlier relentless rainfall, approximately 60 buggies showed up and soon the beautiful and spacious church was entirely full of mourners. After the requiem, Father Luehrsmann gave a very moving oration that dampened many an eye. The deceased was noble-minded and not concerned about the affairs of others, but when there was an opportunity for good deeds, he was always ready. With deep love, he stayed with his elderly mother, and did anything that she could wish with heartfelt joy. And his brothers and sisters knew no greater joy that going with their children to visit good “Onkel John.” One could almost say that “Onkel John” was the center point of the whole family, and friends and acquaintances were also happy to spend time in his company. And therefore the blow falls so especially heavy on the elderly mother, siblings, and relatives, and we hope that the sincere sympathies of their friends, as well as the hope that they will meet again in the future, may provide some consolation.