Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-11-20

Pasadena. Cal. Nov. 2o.-Dr. Robert
humorist. died at his home here yes
terday afternoon. He had been i'll for
the greater part of two years, and for
the last week had been in state of
coma.
DR.. Burdette's illness became acute
ten weeks ago. Up to that time he
had continued his literary and Jour
nalistic work to which he turned after
giving up his active passionate of
Temple Baptist church. Los Angeles,
in 1909. Two weeks ago attending
physicians said there was no hope
for him.
At his bedside when the end came
were his wife. Mrs. Clara Bradley
Burcette, his son. Robert J. Burdette,
Jr. newspaper man of Salt Lake
City, and his stepson. Roy Blanchard
Wheeler. He had been unconscious
for two days.
Funeral services will be held at
Pasadena Presbyterian church Satur-
day afternoon. Temple Baptist church
OF Los Angeles. DR.. Burdette's former
charge, will hold memorial services
Sunday.
Sharpens Wits to Entertain Wife.
Robert J. Bprdette began cultiva;ing
good humor obscurely in Peoria H.,
forty years ago when he spent part of
mis- days at desk on the Peoria
Transcript trying to think" as he
himself once related, "of pleasant
things to tell the folks when / went
nome at night His audience of
folks then was Carrie Garrett. the
Peoria girl he had married short
time before while she lay supposedly
on her death bed. but who lived. and.
! though an invalid for life. became
immortalized by her husband as Her
Little Serene Happiness" 1t was she
who encouraged him TO SOW his humor
in wider fields. At her bedside Bur
dette become prolific with fun making
contributions to the Burlington
Iowa, HaWkeye. and thru these he be-
came famous the country over as The
Burlington Hawkeye Man"
The little invalid wife encouraged
him, too, to try the lecture field.
From Lecturer to Preacher.
| She kept me at it, said Burdette,
and in due time we had lecture on
our hands-'The Rise and Fall of the
! Moustache'" Burdette insisted on
! trying the lecture first in Keokuk-
For Keokuk hated Burlington" and II
he succeeded there he would know
that it was good. Even Keokuk ap-
plauded. The whole United States
of itinerant preacher.
| At 50. ten years ago, Mr. Burdette
was called to the permanent pastorate
ne Inc To, oy,1a Or, r
| Angeles, Cal.
Although Burdette's original home
was in Greensboro, Pa, where he was
born in 1874 the later part of his life
was spent in California At Clifton on
! the-Sea, Pasadena, he had spacious
| house with broad verandas His first
wife had died after fifteen years Of
encouragement to him, during which
she had Travelled all over the country
with him. In 1899 he married Mrs.
Clara B. Baker of Pasadena.
/ A fugitive instance of Burdette's roll
! locking humor was a letter home to
his flock in Los Angeles during his
first trip to Europe. He dated the let
ter from some distance out in the
1 damp" and said, in part:
i The scenery along this route, al
though somewhat monotonous. is
spendidly irrigated. But it seems too
early for the growing crops. Nothing
has come up yet. except on shipboard,
and that has gone overheard. The
route is not nearly so populous as the
Sante Fee trail over the desert. We
have just two kinds of days-the days
we see a ship and the days we don't"
Fun in Everything.
The veteran hunorist found fun in
everything. While he was forced to
abandon it in the pulpit largely because
of the reputation he had made for fun
making he agreed with Henry Ward
Beecher that joke in the pulpit was
not at all out of place. 1t was. as
Beecher said; when you are fighting
the devil, shoot him with anything
Burdette died with the convictions
that there was not only just as much
fun in the world today as ever. but "a
great deal more-because," as ne said
there are more people in it, and people
are the funniest things on this side OF
the grave"