James Monroe Gibbs
White Cloud Cemetery
April 11, 1907
"But he is gone! Another name is stricken from the ever lessening roll
of our old settlers. A son and three daughters together with a number of
grandchildren are left to
attest how sadly they will miss him. It must be so; these tender
human ties cannot be
severed without a pang. Yet in such a death there is really no
cause for grief. His life
work was done, and well done. He had passed his golden wedding day
which was a
sad one for him, as upon that day his life companion departed this
life. Since which
time he has been patiently awaiting the reunion, which has come,
weary with life's
duties and cares, weary of suffering and waiting, he lay down to
rest.

"He was a man who united sound sense with strong convictions, and a
candid out
spoken temper, eminently fitted to mould the rude elements of
pioneer society into
form and consistency, and aid in raising a high standard of
citizenship in our state. How
much this community owes him and such as he, it is impossible to
estimate, though it
would be a grateful task to trace his influence through some of the
more direct
channels, to hold him up in these degenerate days, in his various
charters of husband
and father, of neighbor and friend, to speak of the son and
daughters he has reared to
perpetuate his name and emulate his virtues. But it comes not
within the scope of this
brief article to do so. Suffice it to say he lived nobly and died
peacefully at the advance
age of 82 years. The stern Reaper found him, 'as a shock of corn,
fully ripe for the harvest'.

"Not for him be our tears! Rather let us crown his grave with
garlands; few of us will
live as long or as well; and fewer yet will the Angel of Death
greet with such a loving touch."
(White Cloud Eagle Jan.24, 1907 & July 25, 1907)
Submitted by:
Jana Wellman Ulrich


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