134 
Funeral  Services  of  Martin  I.  Wilbert. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
March,  19 17 
There  are  some  among  you  who  still  recall  the  day  when  Mr. 
Wilbert  entered  upon  his  duties  as  the  apothecary  of  the  German 
Hospital  just  twenty-five  years  ago.  Though  still  a  very  young 
man  he  combined  in  a  rare  measure  a  scientific  mind  and  an  altruistic 
soul,  high  idealism  and  practical  common  sense,  which  together  with 
his  scholarly  attainments  and  his  noble  simplicity  of  character  soon 
gained  for  him  the  absolute  confidence  of  the  late  Mr.  John  D. 
Lankenau,  the  great  benefactor  of  the  German  Hospital,  and  the 
founder  of  our  Mary  J.  Drexel  Home  &  Philadelphia  Motherhouse 
of  Deaconnesses.  Also  the  staff  of  the  Hospital  soon  found  every 
reason  to  trust  his  scientific  and  practical  judgment,  and  our  Dea- 
conesses found  in  him  such  a  staunch  friend  that  to  this  day  they 
have  considered  him  a  member  of  our  Motherhouse-family. 
His  life  was  an  example  and  an  inspiration  to  all  who  were 
privileged  to  work  with  him..  Though  since  his  boyhood  he  never 
enjoyed  robust  health,  his  indomitable  will  forced  his  body  to  serve 
him  to  the  utmost.  He  never  worked  for  a  salary  but  always  for 
his  ideals,  which  he  sought  to  make  realities  in  accordance  with  his 
life  long  and  oft  expressed  conviction  that  the  Almighty  has  placed 
us  in  the  world  for  service.  His  ambition,  to  contribute  at  least 
something  to  the  advancement  and  the  real  good  of  humanity,  has 
in  a  large  measure  been  attained  by  him  even  in  the  judgment  of 
other  leaders  in  his  profession. 
It  seems  providential  that  he  was  able  to  complete  a  most 
important  task  assigned  to  him  by  the  Department  just  before  he 
left  to  seek  relief  at  the  German  Hospital  from  the  attack  to  which 
he  succumbed  on  Saturday  morning.  That  he  ended  his  career  at 
that  Institution  in  which  he  had  begun  his  professional  life,  was 
the  fulfillment  of  a  wish  repeatedly  expressed  to  his  most  intimate 
friends.  Though  eight  years  ago  he  had  accepted  a  call  to  Wash- 
ington, where  a  larger  field  of  usefulness  with  its  corresponding 
greater  influence,  offered  him  the  much  coveted  opportunity  to  bring 
his  ideals  nearer  to  their  realization ;  and  though  his  ability  and  his 
noble  character  gained  for  him  there  many  true  friends,  yet  he  could 
never  forget  his  "  first  love,"  the  German  Hospital  and  the 
Deaconnesses. 
His  life  was  an  inspiriation,  but  also  his  end  has  a  peculiar  message 
for  us.  It  came  so  suddenly  that  it  shocked  especially  those  who 
had  briefly  called  on  him  even  within  his  last  hour.  We  all  were 
taken  by  surprise.    He  himself,  however,  had  arranged  all  his  affairs 
