Mervin Simmons, May 5, 1905-April 5, 1921

SIMMONS, ROWLAND

Posted By: Ava Simmons (email)
Date: 2/24/2005 at 18:40:50

"MERVIN SIMMONS

Mervin, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. C.J. Simmons died at Los Angeles, California on Tuesday, April 5, 1921. He and his mother has been spending the winter with relatives on the Pacific coast and the home town was cheered at frequent intervals by the reports of the good health the boy enjoyed on his sojourn. The mother and son were on the eve of returning to the home in Williamsburg when the boy became suddenly ill and a telegram to his father told of the seriousness of the case; the malady was spinal meningitis, and the father at once left on the long journey to the bedside of the stricken son. It was a race with death and the parent won by the margin of a couple of days.

The body was prepared for shipment, and the long sad journey began on Saturday last ending at Williamsburg Tuesday evening.

The funeral services were held at the home at 2:30 P.M. Wednesday and were conducted by Father Glenn. A large conclave of sorrowing relatives, friends and neighbors were present to pay the best tribute of respect to the youth whose splendid qualities and great promise made him the favorite of the town.

The high school and all the business places in town were closed for the funeral and the dead boy's class members attended in a body. The floral offerings were many and beautifully expressed the love and esteem in which the boy was held, as well as the sorrow for his unsuspected death.

St. Mary's choir rendered the musical selections, and the sermon by Fr. Glenn was a merited tribute to the worth of the young life ended just as it's roseate promise tipped the expanding dawn with a brighter glow.

The interment was in St. Mary's cemetery and the pall bearers were Paul Toomey, Eldon Jones, Wayne and Max Montgomery, Duane Gardner and Dwight Williams, all high school students.

Mervin Simmons was born in Williamsburg on May 5, 1905, and all his life was spent in his native town. He was the younger of two sons, his elder brother died a few years ago, and now the long dark shadows again falls aslant on the home and hearth that will know his sweet voice no more. He was singularly gifted with those qualities of mind and heart that at once attract attention on every hand ; refined in nature, his tastes were proverbial, while his demeanor was constantly reflective of the mind untouched by baseness, of the thought that knew no guile. In high school he was an exemplary student, and the grief for his going is unmeasurable by words.

To the grief stricken parents, the community offers its sincerest sympathies."

Williamsburg Journal Tribune
April 14, 1921