Extracted from The Smithfield Herald (Smithfield, NC)
Friday, June 17, 1927

IN MEMORIAM

Jasper LEE

Jasper Lee, the second son of the late Monroe and Mary Lee, was born December 12, 1876, and was found dead in the woods three miles from his home May 21, 1927. He was married to Miss Rozella Johnson in March, 1898. She with their seven children survive him.

Papa's friends say of him that from his boyhood to know him was to love him. Honesty and generosity, kindness and truthfulness characterized his life. He truly exemplified these qualities in his dealings with his friends, in business and in his home. He often made the expression, ``I had rather be treated wrong that to treat some one wrong,'' and no man ever surpassed him in loving his fellow man right. It was papa's desire to help all who called on him, even to the point of sacrifice on the part of himself. He was always known as a hard working man and by the sweat of his brow he cheerfully made ample provision for the comfort of his family. Unwavering was papa's faith in God, and he often expresed to his family and friends a beautiful hope in Christ whom he loved and in whom he trusted. In addition to his good qualities, as is true with humanity in general, papa inherited a human frailty which, although he tried he could not overcome. But each step that stumbled into sin was always followed by bitter repentance and the happy expression of his countenance and the song upon his lips always assured those who knew him that in his heart he felt that God had heard and forgiven him.

On Friday morning, May 18, our dear father left home never to return alive. His family did not know where he went and we did not see him again to the following Monday when he was found dead. Oh, how our spirits were crushed and our hearts were broken with grief as we looked upon the cold dead face of the father who was so sweet and precious to us, knowing that he had apparently died alone without anyone to even hand him a drink of water or to soothe his aching brow, or to catch the last whisper that might have told his last request of those whom he loved. A sweet smile rested upon his countenance which expressed peace and rest. That smile is consoling to me. It tells me many things. In my imagination I see a picture of heavenly beauty surrounding his death. When he found himself sick, alone in the woods, shrouded with the darkness of the night and a cold rain nearing upon him, he realized his helplessness and he called upon the Lord. If not a sparrow falleth to the ground without His notice how the great loving heart of the Heavenly Father must have been moved with compassion when He saw his poor child alone in the woods, sick, cold and hungry and pleading with Him for help. He sent His angels to comfort and to minister to the poor sufferer. Unexcelled joy must have attended papa's last moments. With no roof for protection except the pines which God with His own hand planted there, with no hand to minister to his suffering except the divine, with no voice to comfort except the words of the Saviour, ``I will not leave thee nor forsake thee,'' heaven was opened to him. The angels sang happily. Loved ones who had gone before waited to welcome him. In that moment of heavenly bliss, God sent His death angel to close his eyes in sleep and to take his spirit to Himself. All the while loved ones and a great host of friends waded through the rain and the darkness seeking anxiously some trace of his steps and eagerly listening for the faintest sound of his voice. It seems that some mysterious providence kept them from finding the spot where our dear father lay until his spirit was safe and happy within the portals of heaven.

Dear mother, brothers and sisters, let us not grieve for him. He cannot come back to us, but we can go to him. One by one we soon shall pass from this world and may we through the eye of faith look forward to the day when he shall join the heavenly choir to welcome us home.

A LOVING DAUGHTER

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NOTE: Jasper LEE's death was first reported in the May 3, 1927 issue of The Smithfield Herald with a follow-up article appearing in the May 10, 1927 issue. His gravestone gives his date of death as May 1, 1927.