Memory Hill Cemetery
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Otelia Miller Case
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Otelia Miller Case
Obituaries
Obituary of Otelia Miller Case, The Milledgeville News, Oct. 11, 1912 -- page 4
We have, at some time, passed through the forest and gazed indifferently at the number of great trees that lifted their majestic forms toward heaven. Anon, we passed through the same forest after fierce wind had done its devastating work. One tree had fallen. As we looked at its prostrate form and considered the place that it filled while standing, we were amazed at the large space it occupied and the vacancy that it left when it was leveled to the earth. This is true in the world of human beings. It was true of Mrs. Otelia Case, who entered, so recently, into the larger life.
She lived so simply; she worked so unselfishly; she spread the sunshine of her personality so unobtrusively that the full measure and richness of her life were scarcely appreciated until she passed out from us. Few characters have shown finer Christian qualities than she manifested. Her piety, her humility, her devotion, her appreciation of spiritual things were interwoven into every phase of her life.
The service she rendered was peculiar in its grace and helpfulness. It was confined to no one class or color. Her gift of song she used freely for the courts of the Lord. Unruly boys became tractable and quiet in response to the loving efforts she made for them in the Sunday School. She never sought for praise nor would she have been deterred by criticism. Her spirit was expressed by her Master before her, when He said that he had “Come not to be ministered unto, but to minister”.
She was a lovely type of Christian motherhood, affectionate and tender, yet strong and firm. She constantly held before her children the highest ideals of Christian womanhood.
Yet beyond all this, the spirit that throbbed through her life, giving character and sweetness to every word and act and constituting a magnetism was the spirit of buoyant vigor and cheerfulness that made her very presence welcome and delightful.
She met death as a victor. There was much suffering during the months preceding it. There was no rebellion; there were no alternates; there was no tear. There was submission, patience, fortitude, and the sublime rest of faith in the One to whom she had surrendered it.
She was incomparably blessed in the loved ones and friends who gave her such willing and tender ministry through all her suffering. She knew that all that science and skill could do had been done; that multitudes of hearts were filled with love and sympathy. More than all, she had the calm consciousness that underneath were the “everlasting arms”. In a critical moment of her past days, at a time when she thought she was alone, she gave voice to the unconquerable spirit, as she sang softly: “Lead kindly light amid the unveiling gloom; Lead Thou me on.”
Mrs. Case had passed life’s meridian and was beginning to catch fleeting glimpses of the sunset when the fatal malady manifested itself. Yes, such a life cannot be measured by days and years. It does not end even for this world when the body passes from beyond our gaze. Though physical existence may cease, the real life or its noble impulses, its great principles, its spiritual atmosphere goes on with increasing power in the lives of others. As the Wise Man so aptly says, “Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman that heareth the Lord, she shall be praised.”
A wealth of floral offerings, from the most ornate designs of the florist to the simple bouquet, were banked against the casket and piled high above the grave in the sight of the sorrowing multitudes that waited tearfully on a sun-lit morning in the silent city. These beautiful flowers were destined to fade, but the deep affection which they expressed will abide, a perpetual evergreen, in the hearts of those who have loved her and lost her but for a while. Rev. Elam Dempsey, The Milledgeville News, October 11, 1912.
Obituary from The Atlanta Constitution, Sept. 26, 1912
Milledgeville, Ga. The funeral of Mrs. Otelia Case was held here this morning from the Presbyterian church. The death of Mrs. Case occurred here Wednesday morning, following a long continued illness, and had been expected for some time. She is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Linton Fowler and Mrs. Lewis Flemister, and one sister, Mrs. W. T. Conn, all residents of Milledgeville.