Washington and Jefferson College - Pandora Yearbook (Washington, PA)

Page 17 text:

, , , ,.. ,,,.,,, 1 mm V- 1 lllvcvl ..,A . 55 21 .x l . ,.,1 DEATH OF PROFESSOR GAIN The whole community was shocked on Friday morning, December 18th, upo11 learning that Dr. Gain, assistant professor in mathematics, had been severely burned soon after having arisen from his bed. He had been in the habit of rising about six o'clock in the morning, and on this morning after lighting the gas in an open grate, as he stood with his back to the fire or as he turned away from it his bath robe became ignited. When he discovered it, he made an effort to get his robe off, but failing in this, he rushed to the bath room and turned on the water into the tub, but this proving to be too slow a process, he rushed out into the hall and cried for help. As none of the family was up, he ran down stairs and out into the snow where the fire was extinguished. But during this time he had been so extensively burned that the saving of' his life was extremely doubtful. He was hurried to the hospital and every effort made by two physicians and the nurses to ameliorate his suffering and to promote recovery, but in vain. At a quarter to six o'elock in the evening he passed away. He did not lose consciousness during all these hours ot' suffering, and seemed to be so badly burned that he did not seem to suffer the excruciating pain we thought to be inevitable, although in parts ot' his body not so badly burned there was constant pain. It was the last day ot' the term and as examinations were finished during the day the students left for their homes. The next day two of Dr. Gain's brothers arrived from Martinsburg, W. Va., and in the after- noon they removed his body to Martinsburg, where he was buried. Members of the faculty and his pastor, Rev. Dr. Cameron, of the First M. E. Church, were present, a brief service was held, and they accom- panied the casket to the train. , Dr. Gain had only been at the College for one term, but those who had met him and had become acquainted with him had great respect for him for his l.ll1lf'0l'll1 courtesy, his gentle spirit, his blameless char- acter and devotion to his work. Professor J. W. Gain, Ph. D., came to Washington and Jefferson as assistant in the Department of Mathematics to Dr. Clyde S. Atchison. Dr. Gain was graduated from Shepherd College, State Normal School at Shepherdstown, W. Va.. in 1903. After acting for some time as prin- cipal in high schools of West Virginia, he entered the University of Chicago, from which he was graduated in 1910 with the degree' of Bachelor of Science. His work in mathematics in Chicago was of such merit that he was excused from the final examinations. In October, 1911, Dr. Gain entered Johns Hopkins University at Baltimore, Md., as a graduate student in mathematics. lti

Page 16 text:

5 I

Page 18 text:

'r lk 1 N 4wmNlfQ z W, --'M 1 R ull fWWWk?Jff r 'H X ZZw2Q2ZEgZi2iQ2 i5wyQgaQ? 2Qs2XQjfj9Qw5M7 f 2 X q -Xf G. . - AC LTY 17