Hymns Sung at Celebrity Funerals -- #2 Quiz

Answer: Buffalo

William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States, was assassinated in Buffalo, New York. While touring the Pan-American Exposition, McKinley was shot twice in the stomach and he died later as a result of complications brought on by the shooting. The assassin was Leon Czolgosz.

McKinley served as president from March 4, 1897 to September 14, 1901, replacing Grover Cleveland. He was succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt.

'Beautiful Isle of Somewhere' was written by Jes­sie B. Pounds in 1897. "One Sun­day morn­ing, when she had been mar­ried on­ly a few weeks, Jes­sie was not feel­ing well, so her hus­band John went to church with­out her (Cent­ral Christ­ian Church, In­di­an­a­po­lis, In­di­a­na)," Nethymnal.org reports. "Jes­sie stayed home and be­gan med­i­tat­ing on Hea­ven; by the time John re­turned, she had prod­uced these words."

Here are the words to 'Beautiful Isle of Somewhere':

"Somewhere the sun is shining,
Somewhere the songbirds dwell;
Hush, then, thy sad repining,
God lives, and all is well.

Refrain:
Somewhere, somewhere,
Beautiful Isle of Somewhere!
Land of the true, where we live anew,
Beautiful Isle of Somewhere!

Somewhere the day is longer,
Somewhere the task is done;
Somewhere the heart is stronger,
Somewhere the guerdon won.

[Refrain]

Somewhere the load is lifted,
Close by an open door;
Somewhere the clouds are rifted,
Somewhere the angels sing.

[Refrain]"

Answer: 1945

Franklin Delano Roosevelt died April 12, 1945, in Warm Springs Georgia. Commonly known as FDR, he is the only US president to win four presidential elections, serving from 1933 to 1945.

He replaced Herbert Hoover as president and was succeeded by Harry S. Truman.

'Faith of Our Fathers' was written by Fred­e­rick W. Fa­ber in 1849 with the refrain being added by James G. Wal­ton in 1874. Faber was born in England in 1814 and converted from Anglicanism to the Catholic priesthood. Though many of his hymns were originally written for Catholic congregations, a number of his works today are sung by Protestant congregations.

Here are the words to 'Faith of Our Fathers':

"Faith of our fathers, living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whenever we hear that glorious Word!

Refrain:
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.

Faith of our fathers, we will strive
To win all nations unto Thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
We all shall then be truly free.

[Refrain]

Faith of our fathers, we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife;
And preach Thee, too, as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life.

[Refrain]"

NOTE: Re­flect­ing Fa­ber's Ca­tho­lic roots, the orig­in­al third stan­za was:
"Faith of our fathers, Mary's prayers
Shall win our country back to Thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
England shall then indeed be free."

Answer: PT-109

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the commander of PT-109 in the Second World War. PT-109 was run down by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri in the South Pacific during the night of August 2, 1943 and Kennedy's actions to save the surviving members of his crew made him a war hero. Kennedy became president of the United States on January 20, 1961, and the story about PT-109 reached a zenith with the production of a film, a song and books. Kennedy, affectionately known as JFK, was assassinated on November 22, 1963, during a visit to Dallas, Texas.

'Eternal Father, Strong to Save' was written by Will­iam Whit­ing, in 1860. He wrote the lyr­ics as a po­em for a stu­dent about to sail for the United States.

"'Eter­nal Fa­ther' is oft­en called the 'Na­vy Hymn' be­cause it is sung at the Na­val Acad­e­my in An­na­po­lis, Ma­ry­land," Nethymnal.org reports. "It is al­so sung on ships of the Brit­ish Roy­al Na­vy and has been trans­lat­ed in­to French. It was the fa­vor­ite hymn of U.S. Pres­i­dent Frank­lin Roo­se­velt and was sung at his fun­er­al in Hyde Park, New York, Ap­ril 1945. The Na­vy Band played it in 1963 as U.S. Pre­si­dent John Ken­ne­dy's bo­dy was car­ried up the steps of the U.S. Cap­i­tol to lie in state. Roo­se­velt served as Sec­re­ta­ry of the Na­vy, and Ken­ne­dy was a PT boat com­mand­er in World War II."


Here are the words to 'Eternal Father, Strong to Save':

"Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who biddest the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy Word,
Who walked on the foaming deep,
And calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

Most Holy Spirit! Who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

O Trinity of love and power!
Our family shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect us wheresoever we go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea."

Answer: to come

The missing words are 'to come'.

'Our God, Our Help In Ages Past' was written in 1719 by Englishman Isaac Watts, the writer of about 750 hymns. While a number of hymnists who followed are credited with writing more hymns, Watts is seen as the person who was largely responsible for giving birth to hymn writing.

Previously, Christians would sing Psalms directly from the Bible. As a result, Watts is known as the Father of English Hymnody.

(Feel free to play another quiz I have posted on FunTrivia. It's titled 'A Quick Sketch of the Incredible Isaac Watts'.)

Sir Winston Churchill, known as Winnie and the British Bulldog, served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 and was the first person to be made an honorary citizen of the United States. The honorary citizenship was awarded to Churchill in 1963 by U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

Here are the words to 'Our God, Our Help in Ages Past':

"Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.

Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,
"Return, ye sons of men:"
All nations rose from earth at first,
And turn to earth again.

A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.

Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

Like flowery fields the nations stand
Pleased with the morning light;
The flowers beneath the mower's hand
Lie withering ere 'tis night.

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home."

Answer: 1997

The funeral for Di­a­na, Prin­cess of Wales, took place September 6, 1997, in West­min­ster Ab­bey, Lon­don, England. Born July 1, 1961, Diana was known for her charisma and beauty as well as her involvement in various charitable causes. Diana died August 31, 1997, in a grisly car crash in Paris.

Diana's funeral saw the British television audience peak at 32.10 million, one of the United Kingdom's highest viewing figures ever. The funeral was also watched by millions of people in the four corners of the world.

'Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah' is a Welsh hymn that was translated into English by Pe­ter Will­iams in 1771.

Here are the words to 'Guide Me, O Great Jehovah':

"Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
[or Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer...]
Pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven,
Feed me till I want no more;
Feed me till I want no more.

Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield;
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.

Lord, I trust Thy mighty power,
Wondrous are Thy works of old;
Thou deliver'st Thine from thralldom,
Who for naught themselves had sold:
Thou didst conquer, Thou didst conquer,
Sin, and Satan and the grave,
Sin, and Satan and the grave.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of deaths, and hell's destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan's side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to Thee;
I will ever give to Thee.

Musing on my habitation,
Musing on my heav'nly home,
Fills my soul with holy longings:
Come, my Jesus, quickly come;
Vanity is all I see;
Lord, I long to be with Thee!
Lord, I long to be with Thee!"

Answer: Ohio

James Garfield was born November 19, 1831, in Moreland Hills, Ohio. He was the twentieth president of the United States, replacing Rutherford B. Hayes. Garfield was succeeded by Chester A. Arthur, who had served as vice president under Garfield.

Nethymnal.org reports Gar­field was fond of the hymn and it was sung at his fun­er­al after his as­sas­sin­a­tion in 1881.

The Website reports Garfield was devout in his Christian faith and quotes him as addressing an au­di­ence of young peo­ple re­gard­ing own con­ver­sion: "Make the most of the pre­sent moment. No oc­ca­sion is un­wor­thy of our best ef­forts. God of­ten uses hum­ble oc­ca­sions and lit­tle things to shape the course of a man's life. I might say that the wear­ing of a cer­tain pair of stock­ings led to a com­plete change in my life. I had made a trip as a boy on a ca­nal boat and was ex­pect­ing to leave home for ano­ther trip; but I ac­ci­dent­al­ly in­jured my foot in chop­ping wood. The blue dye in my home-made socks poi­soned the wound and I was kept home. A re­viv­al broke out mean­while in the neigh­bor­hood, and I was thus kept with­in its in­flu­ence and was con­vert­ed. New de­sires and new pur­pos­es then took pos­sess­ion of me, and I was de­ter­mined to seek an ed­u­ca­tion in or­der that I might live more use­ful­ly for Christ."

Incidentally, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is in Cleveland.

'Ho! Reapers of the Harvest' was written by Isaac B. Wood­bu­ry, who was born 1819 and died 1858. However, no one knows the year the hymn was written.

Here are the words to ' Ho, Reapers of Life's Harvest':

"Ho! reapers of life's harvest,
Why stand with rusted blade,
Until the night draws round thee,
And day begins to fade?
Why stand ye idle, waiting
For reapers more to come?
The golden morn is passing,
Why sit ye idle, dumb?

Thrust in your sharpened sickle,
And gather in the grain,
The night is fast approaching,
And soon will come again;
The Master calls for reapers,
And shall He call in vain?
Shall sheaves lie there ungathered,
And waste upon the plain?

Mount up the heights of wisdom,
And crush each error low;
Keep back no words of knowledge
That human hearts should know.
Be faithful to thy mission,
In service of thy Lord,
And then a golden chaplet
Shall be thy just reward."

Answer: Minnesota

The correct answer is Minnesota, home of the Twins in Major League Baseball, the Vikings in the National Football League, the Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association and the Wild in the National Hockey League.

William O. Douglas was nominated to Supreme Court by President Delano Roosevelt. Douglas was confirmed at the age of 40, making him one of the youngest justices appointed to the court, according to Wikipedia. He was born October 16, 1898, in Maine Township, Minnesota.

'Shall We Gather At the River' was written by Robert Lowry, who also composed the music, in 1864.

Nethymnal provides this quote from Robert Lowry about the writing of the ever-popular hymn: "One af­ter­noon in Ju­ly, 1864, when I was pas­tor at Han­son Place Bap­tist Church, Brook­lyn, the wea­ther was op­press­ive­ly hot, and I was ly­ing on a lounge in a state of phys­ic­al ex­haust­ion. My imag­in­a­tion be­gan to take it­self wings. Vi­sions of the fu­ture passed be­fore me with start­ling vi­vid­ness. The im­ag­ery of the apoc­a­lypse took the form of a ta­bleau. Bright­est of all were the throne, the heav­en­ly ri­ver, and the ga­ther­ing of the saints... I be­gan to won­der why the hymn writ­ers had said so much about the 'riv­er of death' and so lit­tle about the 'pure wa­ter of life, clear as crys­tal, pro­ceed­ing out of the throne of God and the Lamb'. As I mused, the words be­gan to con­struct them­selves. They came first as a quest­ion of Christ­ian in­quiry, 'Shall we ga­ther?' Then they broke in chor­us, 'Yes, we'll ga­ther.' On this quest­ion and an­swer the hymn de­vel­oped it­self. The mu­sic came with the hymn."

Here are the words to 'Shall We Gather at the River':

"Shall we gather at the river,
Where bright angel feet have trod,
With its crystal tide forever
Flowing by the throne of God?

Refrain:
Yes, we'll gather at the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river
That flows by the throne of God.

On the margin of the river,
Washing up its silver spray,
We will talk and worship ever,
All the happy golden day.

[Refrain]

Ere we reach the shining river,
Lay we every burden down;
Grace our spirits will deliver,
And provide a robe and crown.

[Refrain]

At the smiling of the river,
Mirror of the Savior's face,
Saints, whom death will never sever,
Lift their songs of saving grace.

[Refrain]

Soon we'll reach the silver river,
Soon our pilgrimage will cease;
Soon our happy hearts will quiver
With the melody of peace.

[Refrain]"

Answer: wounded

The missing word is 'wounded'.

Augustus Toplady wrote 'Rock of Ages' in 1763 and more than 250 years later the hymn remains immensely popular. Toplady was born in Farnham, Surrey, England, in 1740 and his father Richard Toplady was a commissioned officer in the Royal Marines. His father died when Toplady was still an infant. According to Wikipedia, his father participated in the Battle of Cartagena de Indias in 1741, during the course of which he died, "most likely of yellow fever, leaving Augustus' mother to raise the boy alone."

Here are the words to 'Rock of Ages':

"Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law's demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When mine eyes shall close in death,
[originally When my eye-strings break in death]
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee."

Answer: Wil­liam Mc­Kin­ley

Out of the four names, William McKinley is the only one who was assassinated.

Nethymnal.org states among McKinley's final words reference was made to 'Nearer, My God, to Thee': "Dr. Mann, the at­tend­ing phy­si­cian, re­port­ed that among Mc­Kin­ley's last words were 'Near­er, my God, to Thee, e'en though it be a cross, has been my con­stant pray­er.' On the af­ter­noon of Sep­tem­ber 13, 1901, af­ter five min­utes of si­lence across the na­tion, bands in Un­ion and Mad­i­son Squares in New York Ci­ty played the hymn in hon­or of the fall­en pre­si­dent. It was al­so played at a me­mor­i­al ser­vice for him in West­min­ster Ab­bey, Lon­don."

The hymn was al­so played as the bo­dy of as­sas­sin­at­ed U.S. Pre­sid­ent James Gar­field was in­terred at Lake­view Cem­e­te­ry in Cleve­land, Ohio.

'Nearer, My God, to Thee' was written by Sarah Flower Adams in 1841. Adams was born at Harlow, Essex, Great Britain, on February 22, 1805 and died in London on August 14, 1848.

'Nearer, My God, To Thee' is often associated with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 as some survivors told of the hymn being played while the ocean liner was sinking. Other survivors, however, disputed the claim. Wikipedia reports 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' was sung by the doomed crew and passengers of the SS Valencia as it sank off the Canadian coast in 1906 "and this event may be the source of the Titanic legend."

When Canadian-born James Cameron produced the Oscar-winning movie 'Titanic', a scene showed band members playing 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' as the luxury liner was slowly sinking in the North Atlantic. As a result, the legend about the hymn being played on the Titanic has become even more entrenched.

Here are the words to 'Nearer, My God, to Thee':

"Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.

Refrain:
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!

Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness be over me, my rest a stone.
Yet in my dreams I'd be nearer, my God to Thee.

[Refrain]

There let the way appear, steps unto Heav'n;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy given;
Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee.

[Refrain]

Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs Bethel I'll raise;
So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee.

[Refrain]

Or, if on joyful wing cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I'll fly,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.

[Refrain]

There in my Father's home, safe and at rest,
There in my Savior's love, perfectly blest;
Age after age to be, nearer my God to Thee.

[Refrain]"

Answer: True

Diana, Princess of Wales, requested 'I Vow to Thee, My Country' be sung at her wedding saying it "al­ways been a fa­vo­rite since school­days." The hymn was also sung at her funeral.

Diana married Charles, Prince of Wales, on July 29, 1981. Her funeral was September 6, 1997.

During her marriage, she was the most photographed woman in the world. That mantle has now been passed on to Kate Middleton, who would be Diana's daughter-in-law if she was still alive today.

'I Vow to Thee, My Country' was written by Ce­cil A. Spring-Rice in 1918 and Gus­tav T. Holst composed the music.

Here are the words to 'I Vow to Thee, My Country':

"I vow to thee, my country -- all earthly things above --
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

And there's another country, I've heard of long ago --
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace."