In Memoriam—Godfrey Roger Pisek

From out the midst of life so full of work, Of love and service to mankind, He has been called away! Away from us, his comrades, And from those who loved him best As father, husband and as friend; Away from those who were his pupils and his aids, Inspired by his devotion and his skill; From those who read his works And followed his advice When called the ills of children to assuage. These men, unknown to him Are all his pupils and disciples still; They too will miss him and the spoken word Which was to them as to us here A constant help their courage to inspire. But sadder still it is that he must go From countless little children here That he himself had loved so much, To whom he gave his best As healer and as friend. How great a loss his going is to all! To those who saw him at the bedside, Gentle, kind, and almost saintlike thus, Dispensing succor and relief, recalling Vigor and the glow of health When death seemed near He was so young, and yet Into one single score of years He crowded all the work of a long life, So that it seems he had been with us here, For many a year ere yet his face we knew. Because of his achievements great, His character and high ideals, Few had more friends Than he could count his own; Few had attained the same renown When still so young in years. The trust his colleagues gave was but his due, In mutual helpfulness he was their guide. And now he is no more, we say farewell to Godfrey Whose name means Peace with God. But is this parting final after all? Is he no more because his mortal form We can no longer see or touch? Did Johann Hus, the martyr, whom his fathers And himself as teacher in religion did accept, Who gave his life for truth and love And faith in God and man, Did he not know that life beyond the grave is real? That those who have passed on do never pass away? That in God’s realm both love and labor Do continue for all those who served him well In this our earthly sphere? May we not ask of him, our Godfrey, now, To send his love and inspiration from on high That we may live and work as he has done, That when the call for us shall come To go where he now dwells, And echo may be heard of what So surely is now said of him: “Well done, thou good and faithful one, Be blessed, and enter thy reward.”