The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-11-20
.ROBT. J. BURDETTE
DIES IN PASADENA
Noted Preacher and Humor-
list Succumbs After
Long Illness

Pasadena, Cal, November 19-Dr Rob-
ert ]. Burdctte, preacher, author and hu-
morist, died at his home here at O'Clock
this afternoon. He had been ill for nearly
two years and for the last week had
been in a state of coma
Robert J. Burdette began eultivatine
good humor obscurely in Peoria. ILL.,, 4
years ago when he spent part of his
DAYS at a desk on the Peoria Transcript
trying to think" as he himself once
related, 'of pleasant things to tell the
folks when I went home at night His
audience of folks then was Carrie Gar
fett, the Peoria girl he had married a
short time before, while she lay supposed
ly ON her deathbed, but who lived, and
though an invalid for life. became immor.
talized by her husband as "Her Little
Serene Happiness It was she who en-
couraged him to SOW his humor in wider
fields. At her bedside Burdette became
prolific with funmalsing contributions to
the Burlington. Ia. Hawkeye. and
through these he became famous the
country over as the Burlington Hawxeye
Man"
The little invalid wife encouraged him
too. TO try the lecture field
'.She kept me at it." said Burdette. ''and
in due time we had a lecture on our
hands. The Rise and Fall of the Nous
tache." Burdette insisted on trying the
lecture first in Keokuk-"for Keolsuk hat
ed Burlington and if he succeeded there
he would know that it was good Even
Keolsuk applauded. The whole United
States later did the same. He became
a sort of itinerant preacher.
AT GO, 10 years ago, Mr.. Burdette was
called to the permanent pastorate of the
Temple Baptist church of Los Angeles,
Cal
Although Burdette's original home was
in Greensboro, Pa, where he was born
in 1s44-the latter part of his life was
spent in California. At Sunny Crest, Pas
adena, he had spacious house with
broad verandas. His first wife had died
after Is years of encouragement to him,
during which she had travelled all over
the country with him. In 1890 he mar
ried Mrs Clara b. Baker of Pasadena.
A fugitive instance of Burdette's roll
licking humor was letter home to his
flock in Los Angeles during his first trip
to Europe. He dated the letter from
some distance out in the damp" and
said in part:
1.-THE scenery along this route, although
somewhat monotonous, is splendidly irlj-
gated. But it seems too early for tile
growing crops. Nothing has come up
yet. except on shipboard, and that has
gone overheard. The route is not nearly
so populous as the Santa Fe trail over
the desert. We have just two kinds of
days-the days we see a ship and the
days we don't"
The veteran humorist 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 conviction that
there was not only just as much fun
in the world today as ever but "a great
deal more--because,'' as he said, there
are more people in it, and people are
the funniest things on this side of the
grave"