January 4, 1935.
DEAR FRIENDS, — The news of the passing of my dear father, Dr. Heyman Wreford, will come as a shock to many of you. We had so hoped he might be spared to us a little longer to carry on the great work on which his heart was set, but God in His infinite wisdom willed it otherwise, and has taken His servant home to rest, after a life of devoted service to suffering souls and bodies.
We cannot grieve for him, knowing what a wonderful home-coming his must have been, but the loss to us who remain is very great, and but for the inspiration of his life and example, it would be almost impossible to face.
I feel sure that you who knew him either personally, or through his work and writings, will like to know something of his last few days on earth—days clouded by suffering, but with the light of Heaven ever breaking through the clouds.
On Thursday, December 27th my father, who had been very weak for some days, seemed to gain strength a little. He said “good-bye” individually to those of us who were gathered round him, even to my little dog, of whom he was very fond. To each one he gave a message of love that will never be forgotten.
We sent for the Depot workers to come and sing to him, for their singing was always one of his greatest pleasures. They sang three of his favorite hymns, “How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds,” “There is a land mine eyes have seen.” and “Abide with me.” At the close of the singing, my father repeated the verse his own father had spoken before his passing:
“Glory, glory everlasting
Be to Him who bore the Cross,
Who redeemed our souls by tasting
Death, the death deserved by us.”
He then said “good-bye” to each one.
All that day he kept uttering loving farewells to us at intervals, and that night we thought he was leaving us, but he rallied. The next day he was much weaker, and continued to fail, until on New Year’s Eve he sank into the sleep from which he awakened in Heaven on New Year’s morning. His last conscious act before falling asleep was to point to someone invisible to us, and beckon them nearer, and his last thought was for the meeting with which he had been connected for so many years.
It was a beautiful passing, and it left behind a peace which it is impossible to describe. All of us who were bound to him by ties of love and service have been conscious of it, and upheld by it ever since. It is all around me as I write, sitting in my father’s chair in the Depot he loved so well. It seems like a legacy to us, “the peace of God that passeth all understanding.”
I want to thank you all for the fellowship and interest that sustained my dear father in all he sought to do for a sad and suffering world. I know how he valued your prayers for him. Please pray for us, that we may be guided as to the future of his great work.
Yours very sincerely,
Christabel E. C. Gladwell.