The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-10-29
Death ef Mrs. whitIock's Mother.

Mrs. Reid. mother of Mrs. George Whit
lock Of Wichita, died last week 1t her
home in Iowa. The Wayne County Demo-
Graf OF Corydon, Iowa, says:
How often have we heard the words
from other lips, and never without a feel
ing of sadness and sympathy for the sor-
row OF the bereaved ones in their great
loss. And yet how little We realized what
they meant-what a depth Of sorrow and
pain, and anguish, and affiiction, ana
heartbreak was expressed by them. It
was somebody's mother-that somebody
mourned. This much we knew and felt.
But the depth Of their sorrow and the
extent of their less we could not fathom.
But we can now-it's our mother who is
deaG-it is we who mourn. And we begin
to realize what a loss we have sustained,
and what a loss it must be to others, and
We say God help the man who hears the
dread words, Mothers dead, and pity
him." He needs it. Human sympathy is
a good thing, and the one who sympa-
thizes with another in the hour of attic
ton and distress is showing the Christ
ike side of human nature. Bat 1t needs
something higher, something holer. tc
heal the bruised heart in the loss Of their
greatest earthly friend-the one who,
come what may, will always cling to ana
believe in her child, and hope-even
against hope-and pray for the welfare
Of that child Such a friend we have just
lost-our mother.
She was the mother Of 13 children.
eight Of whom survive her Of the five
dead one lies buried in Cambuskenneth
Abbey Scotland; one on Crosse Island, in
the Gulf of ST. Lawrence two at Bona
parte and one at Pennington Their
bodies are widely scattered, but their
spirits are communing with the happy
mother today in the realms of the blest
1t IS with a sad heart we pen these
lines. We realize that we and her other
children have sustained the greatest loss
Of our lives. And the aged husband, who
for over % years has walked hand in hand
through life with her; sharing he jews
and her sorrows; cheered and being
cheered in the dark hours of trial and
tribulations which come to all, his loss is
irreparable Human sympathy can les
sen it, but only the sympathy Of the ALI
Seeing One can assuage his grief and give
comfort to his bruised and broken heart.
But while we who are left are sad she
whose loss we mourn is happy with her
Saviour and with those who have gone
before, where we may ali meet her when
life's fitful dream IS over on earth Elow.
Jessie Reid, wife of John Stirling, Sr,
died at the family residence in Farming
ton, Tuesday afternoon, aged "a years, 6
months and Is days
The above few lines convey to our read |
ers the saddest message we have ever |
penned-the announcement of the death
Of our mother. She needs no eulogy from
our pen. The nearly 70 years she has
lived-33 of which have been spent in Van
Buren, county-have written for her in the !
hearts of those who knew her a better
and more enduring eulogy than could be
penned by mortal She was a good wife.
a good mother and a good woman What |
higher praise could be given?
Jessie Stirling was born in Kirkaldy. |
Scotland, and was the daughter of John |
and Mary Lindsay Reid. She was mar |
ried to John Stirling at Ava, Scotland,
November Il, 1916, and came to America /
in 1858. the family settling at Littleton.
New Hampshire. They moved to Iowa in /
1861 and for some "A years resided at |
Bonaparte. From there they went to |
iNoliSSiS' IeiIldlIIhS 10 months, and in 1SSS Z
10 Pennington. which has ever since been
their home, In company with her hus- /
band she revisited Scotland and Eng |
land. the last time being in 1895. when she !
went in the hope of benefting her failing |
health, but was taken seriously Ill and
has been an invalid ever since. Not in |
the sense that she was confined to her /
bed or chair. for she was active until al /
most the last but her strength kept |
gradually failing. and tired nature at last !
refused to perform its work. and she fen /
asleep to awake in that better land.
The husband was taken seriously i'll In /
the early part of July, and has been how (
ering between life and death ever since. (
She waited on him so far as her strength
would allow, supervising all that was
done for him up to almost the last day of /
her life, her last directions being for his .
comfort and care. And toat was her way
all through life-nothing too hard to do /
for her husband or family-her indomlna-
bile spirit overcoming the natural weak
Eess of her fran body