Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1912-04-19
FUNERAL OF DEAN HOWARD
a Fitting Final Tribute to the
Worth and Work of a Great
Educator.

The funeral services of Dean Walter
E. Howard were held in the Congrega-
tional church on Tuesday afternoon,
April 16, 1912, at two o'clock A brief
private service at his home was engaged
in at half-past twelve, after which,
from one o'clock until two, the open
casket stood in the vestibule of the
church, where the strong face was
looked at for the last time by the hun
dreds who more than filled the body of
the house-the trustees, the faculty,
the students, citizens of the vicinity,
and visiting friends from many places
in Vermont and other states. The very
makeup of the congregation that
gathered to do honor to the dead man S
memory, testified eloquently to the
enviable place he has occupied in the
popular regard. Among those present,
aside from relatives, were eleven of the
trustees of Middlebury College, those
from out of town being Governor John
A. Mead of Rutland; Mr.. Geo. NJ.
Wright and Hon. A. Barton Hepburn of
New York; DR.. James L. Barton of
Boston; DR.. j. w. Abernethy and DR.,
Rufus C. Flagg of Burlington; and
Hon. F. c. Partridge Of Proctor. Among
the representatives of the various educa-
tional interests of the State were Hon,
Elias Lyman, trustee, and Professor G..
IL. Perkins, Dean, of the University of
Vermont; Rev. E. A. Bishop of Mont
pelier and Supt. D. B. Locke of Rut-
land, of the State Board of Education
Supt. Q. D. Mathewson of Barre; Prin.
C. H. Morrill, of Bakersfield; Prin.
Philip Leavenworth and wife of Castle
ton; and Hon. C.. H. Stearns of John
son. Among the Middlebury alumni
from out of town and not included in
the previous lists were Prof. E. H.
Higley, 68, of Groton, Mass; Mr..
Alfred E. Higley, '68, and Supt. C. A.
Adams. '95, of Castleton; DR.. and Mrs.
E. B. Gift. 30, of Fair Haven, and Mr..
H. A. Burnham, II, of Johnson.
Other friends in attendance were Mr..
Whiting of Burlington; Judge H. L.
Clark and Doctor Clark of Castleton;
Mr.. W. F. Parker of Fair Haven: and
Mrs. Henry r. Dorr of Rutland.
The services at the church were beau
tifully simple and appropriate, the fol
lowing order being observed:
Invocation, Mr.. Lancaster
Hymn, LEAD Kindly Light"
The Students
Reading of Scripture and Address.
President Thomas
Hymn, "Rock of Ages" The Students
Prayer, ex-President Brainerd
Hymn, "For All the Saints Who from
Their Labors Rest" The Students
Benediction, Mr.. Lancaster
The address of President Thomas was
a worthy tribute eloquent, adequate,
and just; it crystallized into fitting
speech the esteem and the affection of
all who knew Dean Howard best. AS
regards the other features of the SER
vice one need not partcularize. For
those who participated in it, as well as
for those who planned the difficult de-
tails, it was in exceptional measure a
work of love; their hearts were in it
and gave grace to all they did. Ex-
quisite. too, and exquisitely grouped,
were the flowers that came in such pro-
fusion: from students, from faculty,
from societies, from alumni associa-
tions, from the normal schools, and
from Individual loving friends.
At three o'clock the body was borne
to the West cemetery. The men of the
College preceded the hearse as an es-
cort, the bearers being DR.. j. w. Aber-
nethy and Mr.. John A. Fletcher of the
Trustees, and Professors Bryant, Burt,
Wetherell, and Wright of the Faculty.
The sun shone bright and the air was
filled with the promise of spring, as
President Thomas spoke the last i'm
pressive words of Christian faith above
the descending form, and the loved
Dean was laid to rest within sight of
the halls that knew him for nearly
forty-fve years and that for twenty
three years have been the scene of his
devoted and .splendidly successful la