Died
in Detroit, on Saturday the 12th inst., Walter H. VanLoon, youngest son of
Rev. J. VanLoon of Delhi, in the 25th year of his age.
Deceased was born in
the Township of Townsend, near Boston, in 1863, and lived at home until
October 1883, when he left the parental abode and went to Detroit,
entering at once upon an active business live.
In
the winter of 1884, under the ministry of the late Rev. M. H. Worrall, he
was baptized into membership with the 18th Street Baptist Church. In
connection with the Young People's Guild he became an earnest and devoted
worker.
At the commencement of the present year he was elected Assistant
Superintendent of the Sabbath School, and labored faithfully and
cheerfully to advance its interests, being loved and respected by all who
knew him.
In
the ordinary routine of business life he won golden opinions from a large
circle of friends and acquaintances, who reposed entire confidence in his
integrity, many of whom came, when they heard of his death, to pay a last
tribute to his memory, and express their heartfelt sorrow that one so
young and so promising had been removed so early in life.
During
the past summer he frequently complained of feeling unwell, but continued
actively at his duty in the employ of E. S. Marvin, Esq., wholesale and
retail paper dealer, 147 Jefferson Avenue, until the 26th of September,
when his fatal illness began.
His malady from the outset baffled the skill
of the ablest physicians in the city, who were called in consultation by
his medical attendant, Dr. Kennedy, and continued to visit regularly for
several weeks previous to his death.
During
his long and painful illness, he suffered much, but did not complain,
received gratefully the loving services of wife, friends and medical
attendants, who were unceasing in their efforts to make his death-bed
easy.
On the
evening previous to his death, he suddenly awoke from a seeming stupor and
repeated in a clear, distinct voice the entire words of the 1st Psalm, and
after a moments pause, an earnest prayer, expressing his complete
resignation to the will of his Redeemer, and committing himself, and the
wife and babe he was so soon to leave to His eternal care.
The scene was
one never to be forgotten by those who witnessed, and the hearts of the
watchers, as they accompanied that prayer to the Father's throne, were
filled with unspeakable joy, that death was robbed of its sting.
In
August 1884, he married Sarah Eveline, eldest daughter of Mr. J. T.
Carson, of Simcoe, who with an infant daughter, is left to mourn the loss
of a fond and faithful husband.
A
memorial service was held in the church of which he had been a member, on
the Sabbath following his death, when an eloquent and earnest address was
delivered by the Pastor, Rev. W. H. Stifler, D. D., from Romans VIII
chap., 23rd verse.
His
remains were brought to Delhi on Monday 14th
inst., and consigned to their last resting place on the following day, in
the family plot adjoining the Baptist Church, in he presence of a large
concourse of sorrowing relatives and friends.
