"In the very May of life another heart has ceased to beat. Night has fallen upon noon. But he lived, he loved, he was loved. Wife and children pressed their kisses on his lips. This is enough. The longest life contains no more. This fills the vase of joy.
"He who lies here, clothed with the perfect peace of death, was a kind and loving husband, a good father, a generous neighbor, an honest man,—and these words build a monument of glory above the humblest grave. He was always a child, sincere and frank, as full of hope as spring. He divided all time into to-day and to-morrow. To-morrow was without a cloud and of to-morrow he borrowed sunshine for to-day. He was my friend. He will remain so. The living oft become estranged; the dead are true. . . .
"With him immortality was the eternal consequences of his own acts. He believed that every pure thought, every disinterested deed, hastens the harvest of universal good. This is a religion that enriches poverty; that enables us to bear the sorrows of the saddest life; that peoples even solitude with happy millions yet to live,—a religion born not of selfishness and fear, but of love, of gratitude and hope,—a religion that digs wells to slake the thirst of others, and gladly bears the burdens of the unborn.
"But in the presence of death how beliefs and dogmas wither and decay! How loving words and deeds burst into blossom! Pluck from the tree of any life these flowers, and there remain but the barren thorns of bigotry and creed.
"All wish for happiness beyond this life. All hope to meet again the loved and lost. In every heart there grows this sacred flower. Immortality is a word that Hope through all the ages has been whispering to Love. The miracle of thought we cannot comprehend. The mystery of life and death we cannot comprehend. This chaos called the world has never been explained. The golden bridge of life from gloom emerges and on shadow rests. Beyond this we do not know. Fate is speechless, destiny is dumb, and the secret of the future has never yet been told. We love; we wait; we hope. The more we love, the more we fear. Upon the tenderest heart the deepest shadows fall. All paths, whether filled with thorns or flowers, end here. Here success and failure are the same. The rag of wretchedness and the purple robe of power all difference and distinction lose in the democracy of death. Character survives; goodness lives; love is immortal."
Harrison W. Nanny, of Goshen, had a pathetic career. Possessed of unusual talent and capacity he was handicapped in the practice of his profession by an accident which paralyzed his energies, embittered his solitary life and pressed to his rebellious lips the chalice of mocking irony.
But while he was not resigned he was courageous. Some of the work which he performed in suffering and illness is marked by a high degree of intellectual power. Only his misfortunes prevented his attaining prominence at the bar.
No one has a deeper affection for the memory of Mr. Nanny than his old friend and partner, Charles L. Mead, who now lives in retirement from the activities of his profession at his home in Middletown. Mr. Mead has the unprecedented record of having served three terms in succession as county treasurer—a striking proof of his influence, his popularity and his qualifications for public office. During his entire period of service not one of his political acts was ever questioned and he surrendered the office crowned with the respect and confidence of the public.
Bradford R. Champion, of the Goshen bar, was a contemporary of Winfield and Gedney. While his talents were not brilliant or showy he still possessed those solid, sterling qualities of mind and heart which impart strength and vigor to individual character; which inspire confidence in the community at large; which uphold the very structure of society; which confer blessings upon every relation in life and which bring peace and honor, repose and happiness to their possessor.
The recent death of William H. Wyker removed one who, while not prominent in the trial courts, possessed many endearing traits of character and occupied a large place in the social and civil life of Goshen. He was also in great favor and request as a speaker in political campaigns. He could have taken his place among the trial lawyers of the county, had he so chosen, but, he, too, suffered under the disadvantage of having accepted the office of justice of the peace—that abyss in which talent has so often found its unmarked grave.