Hail—and Farewell—to the Chief: Stephen Mather’s Funeral January 25, 1930

Mather Homestead Foundation
6 hours ago
1 min read

“DEATH OF FORMER DIRECTOR MATHER “headlined Park Service Bulletin No. 49. The article reported many details of the funeral service, held three days after Stephen’s death, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, New Caanan, CT.

“The fore part of the church was a bower of flowers, the tributes of loving friends and associates and a beautiful spray of roses and heather from the Washington office was among the three pieces on the coffin that went into the grave. The Episcopal service was very impressive, and everything was simple and beautiful and in thorough accord with the beauty and simplicity of Mr. Mather’s life.”

The honorary pallbearers included NPS Director Horace Albright; Associate Director Arno Cammerer; Mr. Robert Sterling Yard (best man at STM’s wedding); Mr. Oliver Mitchell (VP Sterling Borax Company); Mr. John Bruhn (Manager of Sterling Borax’s New Brighton plant); Mr. Harold White (STM’s friend and attorney); Mr. C. B. Zabriskie (Vice-President of Pacific Coast Borax); and Franklin Pierce Adams (columnist and Counselor of the Pan American Union.)

The article concludes…

“Pages could be written here about Mr. Mather’s wonderful work for national parks and his devotion to the Service, his deep personal interest in every member, and his generosity and innumerable kind acts. But all this the people in the field know just as well as the Washington office. None could come in contact with him and not realize his greatness and humanity.”