OBIT: Joseph J. SHUMATE, Garrett, Somerset County, PA

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Meyersdale Library.
Transcribed and proofread by: Richard Boyer.

Copyright 2007.  All rights reserved.
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JOSEPH J. SHUMATE

Joseph L. [sic] Shumate Died at Age of 94
Passed Away Peacefully At Home of a Daughter, Mrs. Ida M. Bockes

  Joseph J. Shumate, 94, one of the oldest residents of Somerset County, died 
Thursday, Jan. 4, at 7:45 p.m. at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Ida M. Bockes, 
of Garrett.  He was born in Cumberland, Md., on Nov. 28, 1850, a son of Mr. and 
Mrs. Joseph Shumate, and lived at Summit Mills practically all of his life.
  He was a retired farmer.  His wife died many years ago.
  Surviving are three daughters and two sons - Mrs. Ida M. Bockes, above 
mentioned, Emma, wife of Elmer Engle and Anna, wife of John Engle, both of St. 
Paul; Wilson, Summit Mills, and John, Meyersdale.  Also surviving are 17 
grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren.
  He was a faithful member of the Church of the Brethren at Summit Mills the 
greater part of his life and a regular attendant at church services as long as 
his health permitted.  All his life he was a good pedestrian always walking very 
erect, even in old age, with head up and shoulders squared.  He always walked to 
and from church, even when rides were proffered him, saying he enjoyed the 
exercise of walking.
  After attending communion services one Sunday evening several years ago, when 
already over 90 years of age, he was proffered a ride to his home in an 
automobile.  He declined saying he felt well enough to walk, and started 
homeward on foot as was his custom.  But in crossing a small bridge over a brook 
near the church, his eyes were dazzled by the headlights of an approaching car, 
and in sidestepping the car, he stepped off the end of the bridge and fell 
several feet into the bed of the brook, where he lay with an injured back for 
quite a while before he was able to get up on his feet and continue his homeward 
journey.  He never fully recovered from his injury and from that time on his 
walking days were over.
  After his retirement from farming and hard work, he lived serenely among his 
relatives in and around Summit Mills and within the last year went to live with 
his daughter, Mrs. Bockes, in Garrett, where he was tenderly cared for and 
enjoyed visits from many friends, with whom he was always pleased to converse.  
His mind remained clear and lucid and his memory good until his last days.
  Mr. Shumate always enjoyed hymn singing and in his younger years was fond of 
public singing and in having friends gather at his home to sing.  The Bible was 
his favorite book, and he could repeat the 91st Psalm by heart and derived great 
comfort from it.  He fervently believed in "the security of him who trusts in 
Jehovah," which is the essence of the 91st Psalm, and in his old age felt sure 
that the last verse of that Psalm applied especially to him: "With long life 
will I satisfy him and show him my salvation".  Seemingly with that thought in 
mind, he fell serenely into the sleep that knows no waking until the last Great 
Day.
  The aged man's body was prepared for burial in Price and Son's Funeral Home in 
Meyersdale, and kept there until Sunday morning when it was taken to the Church 
of the Brethren at Summit Mills, where it lay in state until the hour of the 
funeral, 2:30, Sunday afternoon.  Rev. J. C. Beahm conducted the services.  
Interment was made in the Lichty Cemetery under the direction of W. C. Price and 
Son.
  Almost the entire population of the Summit Mills community attended the 
funeral of their oldest and very highly esteemed neighbor.

Meyersdale Republican, January 11, 1945