P.F. Sturgis, 1830-1903

STURGIS

Posted By: Constance, IAGenWeb Volunteer
Date: 6/13/2021 at 23:45:36

The West Union Gazette
West Union, Fayette Co., Iowa
February 20, 1903
Page 1, column 3 and 4

A SYMPOSIUM
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By the H.A.L. Club on the Death of P.F. Sturgis.

At the last meeting of the H.A.L. Club the following resolution on the death of P.F. Sturgis were adopted, and letters were read from absent members.

WHEREAS, For the second time in the history of our Club the heavy-hand of death has laid low a fellow member; and

WHEREAS; We are now called to mourn the passing of our friend and councilor, the founder, philosopher and sage of this Club, Hon. P.F. Sturgis, therefore be it

RESOLVED, That in the death of Mr. Sturgis a chair that can never be filled is made vacant; that our charmed circle is irreparably broken; and the place where he was known so long and so well shall know him no more forever.

RESOLVED, That in order to keep green the memory of one we held do dear his name be perpetuated on the roll of the Club.

RESOLVED, That these resolutions be spread upon the minutes and a copy delivered to Lew I. Sturgis.
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McGregor, Ia., Feb., 10, 1903.
Secretary H.A.L. Club,

Dear Sir: --The death of Mr. Sturgis, for years a warm personal friend, fills me with a sense of great personal loss, hardly less than those whose privilege it was to see him daily. I fully appreciated his great qualities. His was a great soul, and he had the heart and brain of a gentleman in its highest sense. I regret that inaccessibility of West Union and Oelwein from here, together with the season and ill health will prevent my attending his funeral obsequies He will have no mourner more sincere that I.

Cordially Yours, Thos. Updegraff.
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IN MEMORIUM.

Phiness Francis Sturgis though dead yet liveth.

He believed in sacrificing sham for sincerity; in exchanging caprice for continuity; in choosing labor rather than leisure; and he believed that achieved greatness is the only kind that will survive is the only kind that will survive the corroding touch of Time. How ever present in his mind, when estimating men was that idea that if a man is to live on he must have something upon which his fame is to rest.

He made it plain to us jealousy is a sin exceeded only by the greater sin of ingratitude. He had seen these forces play upon the passions of men and knew too well their direful effects.

Mr. Sturgis spurned superstition. He seemed to feel intuitively what science is clearly demonstrating that God is God without the in ervention of the miraculous to prove him such.

He loved flowers and all living creatures. He believed in the right of every thing to live and enjoy life. I have seen him quench the thirst of drooping flowers, greatly stroke the fur of pussy, and look with admiration upon yje cooing turtledoves that mated, loved and reared their young in the evergreens 'neath which he used to sit.

He had tender regard for women-kind, and was melted to tears when contemplating their heroic efforts to baffle wrong.

He was sincerely hospitable. He made one feel at home. There was cheer in his face, mirth in his manner, fruit in the basket, and welcoming everywhere.

He left some torches burning, the flames of which will warm the hearts of men long years to come.

He loved this verse:

"There came a voice along the pathway of my soul
That bade me work and plan;
And kindled in my breast the glowing flame
That makes a bit of clay a man."
Freeman GH. Bloodgood
Waterloo, Ia., Feb. 14, 1903