"...he leaves to them that which is beyond all price--the legacy of his great and noble life, wherein pre-eminent ability, successful achievement, fidelity to trust, devotion to duty, spotless honor and dauntless courage, loyalty to friends, love and tenderness to family, all blend in one harmonious picture of magnificent manhood..."
The January 3, 1883, accidental death of William Raymond "Rayme" Morley at age 36 shocked and stunned his legions of Friends and Associates. One such Friend was the Editor of New Mexico's "Las Vegas Daily Gazette." J.H. Koogler wrote a 2,511 word obituary including the evocative expressions above. Rather than attempt to encapsulate The Life & Times of W.R. Morley, we defer to Koogler's timeless words published January 7, 1883, on Page 4 of the Gazette.
Below is another excerpt from Koogler's eloquent Memorial to Morley. We transcribed the entire obituary and have placed it on our Google Drive to facilitate easy reading. Links to the transcription and the original newspaper are below.
"He
was a man in whom individuality was marked to an extraordinary
degree. It left its impression on the mind of every one who met him
in whatever relation. No man who talked with him for five minutes
failed to remember him ever afterwards, His intellectual activity was
marvelous. His mind seemed never at rest, and he was never content
with the knowledge or information possessed, but every sense was
perpetually alert to discover some new fact or work out some fresh
problem. What he did learn was his for all time, for he forgot
nothing. Original in his methods and in his conceptions, he was no
respecter of rules until he had proved them in his own way. He was
possessed at an iron constitution and herculean frame, and to them he
showed no mercy. The word “fail” was not in his vocabulary, and
when he set out to accomplish a given undertaking he spared neither
horses nor men, and least of all himself. In its pursuit he was
disheartened by no repulse, discouraged by no obstacle, appalled by
no danger; but amid circumstances the most trying, and difficulties
the most formidable, the sanguine temperament and high courage of
Morley might ever be seen, conspicuous above all manner of adversity,
infecting the spirits of those around him with the magical influence,
making the despondent hopeful and the timid brave, until the end was
reached at last. Thus it was that the name of Morley came to be
synonymous with success. He asked no man to go where he was not
willing to lead, and such was his personal magnetism and such the
affection and confidence he inspired by his unfailing care and
thought for them that he came to be regarded by his immediate
employees with a sort of idolatry. With them his wish was law, and
his opinion absolutely beyond question, and all that flesh and blood could
do they would do for him if asked. With all this perseverance,
energy; and daring, his brilliancy in conception and promptness in
execution; his fertility of resource and confidence in the success of
his undertakings; his value to those in whose service he labored was
beyond estimate. And never did an employer receive more faithful
service than from him. No man ever trusted him in vain."
Here is the link to the PDF of the full 1883 obituary:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aF0G58tjPR0RQUIwt1xEwY9JdTkJt16O/view?usp=sharing
And here is the link to the original newspaper page on file at the Library of Congress:
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90051703/1883-01-07/ed-1/seq-4/
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