GUEY, Tom 1893-1918

GUEY

Posted By: Tammy (email)
Date: 12/11/2016 at 08:25:22

Tom Guey Dies Of Influenza

Was A Splendid Young Man and Highly Respected by All

Tom Guey, our Chinese laundryman, passed away last Saturday morning after about a week's illness with influenza. Later in the day his body was laid to rest in the cemetery west of town.

Tom was a fine young man and everyone felt a kindly interest in him. This was particularly true with Rev. Dilman Smith's family who have been specially interested in him, and below we give space to an obituary written by Rev. Smith on the boy's life:

"It is rather difficult to write an obituary of Tom Guey which would in any way express a history of his life. He was born in South China and came to America about four years ago, and was at the time of his death about 24 years old. Up until two years ago he could hardly speak a word of English and I hope just at this point you will pardon some personal references. A couple of years ago Tom, through the influence of George Chung, a Christian Chinese who came to Grundy Center with him was induced to attend evangelistic services. And at that time Tom embraced Christianity, was baptised and united with the Methodist church. From that time until his last sickness he never missed a Sabbath service. At the time of his conversion he was taken into our heart and home and every Sunday afternoon received instruction in reading and writing. So that at the time of his death he was able to read intelligently in the Third Reader, and had also learned to read some portions of scripture, and could carry on a fair conversation with those of us whom he was well acquainted with. Tom Guey, of course was a Chinaman, but his character and life were as clean as that of any man. He was industrious and economical and was moving right forward to a place of citizenship and usefulness that would be commendable in any man.

He showed his loyalty to this country by buying Liberty Bonds and is now buried in an American grave and I for one hope that a modest but permanent little marker will be placed above his grave to mark the resting place of a young man who wished to be worth while in life, but whose hopes were suddenly brought to an end by an untimely death. The people of the Methodist church all loved and appreciated Tom Guey, and being as intimately associated with him as we were in the parsonage the news of his death came as a deep and intense grief."

--The Grundy Republican (Grundy Center, Iowa), 24 October 1918, pg 1