Taylor University - Ilium / Gem Yearbook (Upland, IN)

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He is one of the keenest thinkers with whom I have ever come in contact. In Dr. Ayres there is no difficulty in stating what is the outstanding characteristic that binds all his other virtues into completeness, namely, his deep sense of justice. He has always been to me the very soul of justice: when he has erred, it has been on the side of this great prophetic virtue. Then think again of his faithfulness to humble duty which many times was sheer drudgery, worked out with unremitting toil and small reward. He has been willing to work unrecognized and unrewarded. I feel he has never come into his own. He has given a life of unselfish labor — no man has for so long a time put such sacrifice, such toil, such heart- breaking service into the building up of Taylor University, as our beloved Dr. Ayres. I cannot tell what he has meant to me as a friend. I will say of him as was said of the Earl of Oxford, the late Mr. Asquith, ' He is the most generous of collegians, most unselfish of leaders. ' He carries with him today in the fullest measure, our esteem, our regard, our afl ' ection. All see in the character of Dr. Ayres the elements which mark him as one of God ' s noblemen, fitted for earth and ready for heaven. Character is not attained in a few short years, it is a steady growth, developing through the years : its price is above rubies. It thus becomes the inspiration to other lives for noble living and to its possessor the pass- port beyond the stars. — M. S.

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BURT WILMOT AYRES DePauw University, 1888-1889, A. B. Superintendent Redkey High Schools, 1889-1890; Superintendent Warren High Schools, 1892-1893; Dean Normal Department Taylor University, 1897-1902. Received from Taylor University B. S., 1898; A.M., 1900; Ph.D., 1902. A man ' s character is most evident as it appears in the lives of those who have felt its influence. An idea of the essential inner nature of the man to whom the Taylor Gem of 1925 is dedicated may be best understood by evidence gathered from north, south, east and west, offered by those who bear faithful testimony to the influence of his life as it has made its impress upon their own. Truly, our friend. Dr. Ayres, has engaged with God in the sublime task of lifting humanity higher. He stood out as one of the finest examples of practical Christianity I have ever known. Educationally there was a consistent parallel, while his intelligence was deep and strong, he was approachable, and made the interest of the student his interest. In him there was a fine combination of humility, love of justice, hon- esty, earnestness of purpose, and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of others. These, along with high scholarship, are combined with deep spirituality. He is a great teacher, and a true friend. May he have many more years of usefulness at Taylor, so that if Jesus tarries, we may send on our three little girls to be under his benign influence. Of all the teachers under whose influence I have come at various times there is none whom I can more feelingly eulogize than Dr. Ayres. While much of fact that I have learned from him has passed into the great body of the practically forgotten, the most important of all remains as vivid as ever — the memory of the spirit and quality of the mind that taught. One was impressed, not alone by the excellence of the product of that mind, but especially by the supreme honesty with which it functioned. To give from the breadth of his own knowledge, to lead to correct and complete thinking by the integrity of his own intellect — are not these the ultimate criteria of the highest type of teacher?

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