St Landry County Louisiana Archives Obituaries.....Firnberg, Robert H. December 13, 1912
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Mary K Creamer marykcreamer@yahoo.com April 12, 2015, 1:10 pm

St. Landry Clarion (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, December 21, 1912, Image 1

OBITUARY.

ROBERT H. FIRNBERG.

Last Friday, the 13th of December, in the plenitude of his mental and 
physical powers, with the promise of a long life before him, with a full 
appreciation of the value of life and the artistic temperament to grasp its 
beauties and assimilate its beatitudes, poor Robert Firnberg passed into 
that unknown country from whose bourne no traveler has yet returned.

He made a gallant struggle for life, but the insiduous attacks of the dread 
pneumonia soon muffled the heart throbs that marked his march to the end. 
Some faint hope had been extended to the loved ones who watched over him 
with such affectionate care, every temporary improvement being magnified by 
the anxious wish, father to the hope, but alas! like in the - "Dying lamp 
the unsteady flame - Hangs quivering on a pivot, leaps - And falls again, as 
loth to quite," so the soul of Robert, weary with the struggle of the 
physical body against uisiduous disease, flickered and finally fell 
exhausted in the socket, whether to pass into a leaden sleep that knows no 
awakening, where no pain, no sorrow, no anguish, no regret is felt, or 
whether translated to a higher sphere where earthly joys can furnish no 
parallel for the happiness that falls to the lot of those who have lived 
uprightly here below, we know not.

It is a gratifying thought to friends and relatives that in either state he 
must be happy and that his last hours were not tortured with pain, and that 
he was conscious almost to the last; as was said by Dr. Johnson of another 
Robert - "Then with no throbs of fiery pain, No cold gradations of decay, 
Death broke at once the vital chain, And freed his soul the nearest way." 
The great concourse that assembled at the residence of his brother Joseph 
and who followed the body to the grave in despite of the raw December day, 
showed the affectionate hold that Robert had on this community where most of 
the 45 years of his life were spent. The eloquent words of Rabbi Rothstein, 
who read the beautiful service of the Hebrews for their dead, both in the 
musical language of this ancient people and in English, found a responsive 
echo in every heart. It seemed an auspicious omen, that, as his words of 
hope for the departed and consolation for the mourners were spoken, a rift 
opened in the leaden sky and for a few moments the sun shone forth in warmth 
and splendor as the casket was lowered into its final resting place. There 
may he rest in peace, a pleasant memory to all who ever knew him. His 
devoted sisters and their husbands were with him to the end. Mrs. Michelson, 
of Austin and Mrs. Herman Meyer, of Waco, Texas; Mrs. Sam Weil, and his 
brother, L. M. Firnberg and wife, and the following friends and relatives 
from Alexandria; Senator Weil, Mr. and Mrs. George Bauer, Max Levy, Mrs. Roy 
Lisso, and Mrs. Emile Goldstein of New Orleans, whose presence contributed 
not only to the comfort of deceased in his last hoers on earth, but 
sustained the devoted brother Joseph and his wife and children, sorely 
stricken by this affliction.

Robert Firnberg came to Opelousas at the age of eleven, from New Orleans and 
entered the public schools where his studious habits and application won for 
him the Peabody scholarship of which he did not avail himself, retaining the 
bronze medal as a souvenir of his industry. He clerked for various 
mercantile concerns until 1894, when he formed a partnership with his 
brother Joseph which existed up to the time of his death. His demise is a 
loss to the community and the sympathy of the parish and city goes out to 
the bereaved family.

Requiescat in pace. XXXX.
 

Additional Comments:
NOTE: Robert H. Firnberg is buried in the Hebrew Rest Cemetery located in 
Opelousas, St. Landry Parish, LA.

www.findagrave.com memorial # 81055470

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