Josephine Cowles deLagnel

Once again the friends of Washington, D. C., were called upon to translate into the world of action the divine injunction of Bahâ’u’llâh, "I have made death to thee as glad-tidings ...” Without this teaching the devoted friends of Mme. Josephine Cowles deLagnel would have been a sorrowful group, for her passing into the life eternal and radiant would have meant a bereavement inexpressibly great and very deeply felt. This faithful maid-servant was for many years an active and beloved member of the Washington Baha’i Community and for many years she had served on the Local Spiritual Assembly.

Mme. deLagnel became a Baha’i in 1902, and from the day she entered the Fold she was a comprehending follower of the Faith, —loyal, devoted, sincere at every point and at all times. She had "found her Lord,” as she so often said, and so all of the Teachings emanating from the Source of Life and Light and Love in this Great Day constituted her armor and buckler and were indeed all-in-all to her. Through the creative effect of the Holy Utterances she had developed spiritual ears and spiritual eyes and a keen spiritual perception. Her greatest charm was her firmness in faith and her longing to serve the Most Great Cause. She was eighty-five years of age, yet she was active up to the time of her serious illness which began about six weeks before the final dissolution of that once very strong body. She was well equipped for service for she had a strong spirit and a strong mind in a strong body.

Those who knew her well during all the thirty years of her devotion to the Cause will remember her unique and beautiful character, and the Washington friends in particular will always remember that her home was the Baha’i meeting-place for years. When 'Abdu’l-Bahâ was in Washington in 1912, He visited her home, and thereafter she herself and many others considered the home was especially blessed and that it had an unusually pure spiritual atmosphere.

'Abdu’l-Baha said to her, "She is My real daughter, there is no one who could be dearer to me than she is because she really serves. I love her. I love her very much.” And in one of her own Tablets from Him, these words, "Every soul has a protector, but praise be to God thou hast God.” And during the storms and stress of life she held firmly to these Holy Words.

(The Baha’i World 1932-1934)

Dr. Auguste Forel

Word has come of the passing of Dr. Auguste Forel, the distinguished savant of Switzerland, known throughout the world as one of the foremost scientists of this day. In 1920 Dr. Forel embraced the Baha’i Cause, and 'Abdu’l-Baha addressed to him that great Tablet presenting the scientific proofs of God’s existence, which was published in its entirety in the Star of the West, Vol. 13, pages 101 to 109. By his tireless research Dr. Forel greatly augmented scientific knowledge and rendered inestimable service to mankind, and the beauty of his life and character will long remain with us as an example of selfless service to humanity.

(The Baha’i World 1932-1934)

Alice Barney

Mrs. Alice Barney, gifted poetess, painter, dramatist, musician, architect and crafts-woman who passed away in Los Angeles in 1931, lived as her friends and contemporaries attest, in a world of beauty. She became interested in the Baha’i Cause shortly after her daughter Laura (now Mme. Dreyfus-Barney of Paris) visited Haifa in 1900. The Washington home of Mr. and Mrs. Barney was open for Baha’i meetings on many occasions.

Mrs. Barney visited Acca in the spring of 1905 with her daughter Laura, remaining there near 'Abdu’l-Baha a month, during which time she painted the portrait of the son of the Governor.

Mrs. Barney’s paintings are to be found in most of the important museums of the United States, the National Museum of Washington alone having as many as five of her works, while a painting which she exhibited in the Paris Salon was purchased by the French Government. She was always a generous patron of the arts and offered her encouragement especially to members of the colored race, assisting them to develop their talents with sympathetic understanding.

The well-known settlement "Neighborhood-House” was her gift to the city of Washington, and this splendid institution interested 'Abdu’l-Baha very much when He visited Washington in 1912.

Mrs. Barney was particularly attracted to the Baha’i Cause because of its broad teachings of tolerance, its humanitarianism, its love of the beautiful and fruitful action.

(The Baha’i World 1932-1934)

Edwin Scott

The passing of Mr. Edwin Scott, for many years a loyal and active member of the Baha’i Cause, was deeply felt by the friends with whom he had spent long years in loving, active service in Paris. In 1911 when 'Abdu’l-Baha visited Paris He spoke several times in the studio of Mr. and Mrs. Scott and to this day that studio continues to be the Baha’i center where Mrs. Scott welcomes the Baha’i friends, whether tourists or residents of Paris, with the same beautiful courtesy, finding thus her greatest source of joy and consolation since the loss of her husband.

Because of his recognized ability as an artist Mr. Scott was made Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur and he was a distinguished member of la Société National des Beaux Arts. Five of his paintings were purchased by the French government and after his demise one of his works was hung in the Salle du Jeu de Paume, in the Museum of State in Paris, a distinction much sought after by painters.

The Baha’i Cause has suffered a grievous loss through the passing of Mr. Edwin Scott.

(The Baha’i World 1932-1934)

George Adam Benke

George Adam Benke was born on a flourishing and prosperous farm in Fredericksfelt, Southern Russia, of God-fearing parents in the year 1878.

When but a small boy of nine he had an attack of smallpox. Taking a severe cold after this, he lay at death’s door for four years. The doctors had little hope of a recovery. When his mother heard this, she fell on her knees at his little cot, beseeching God to restore her boy to health, promising that if he recovered, his life should be dedicated to God’s service as a missionary. Very shortly after this a peasant woman was found who declared she could effect a cure. She proceeded to administer doses of sarsaparilla brewed from an herb, and fed the boy only on unleavened bread. At the end of two weeks there was a marked improvement, so

the child was allowed to have his regular food for a time, and then to go back again to her treatment. In a very short time Adam was up and about.

When the time drew near for his higher education, a great famine and pestilence fell on the land. The crops failed. Barely enough grain was saved for the families’ nourishment, while twenty-six of the best horses and cattle died. All thought of educating Adam as a missionary had to be abandoned, and instead he became a schoolmaster. Nevertheless his mother’s great desire for him filled his thoughts, and while unable to go forth to foreign fields, or become a university student, still he could and did live a life of love for God. And when, in 1901, he married Miss Lina Wolf from Carlsruhe, Baden, they together searched long and lovingly for truth.

Then came the world’s war, after which German soldiers came to the Crimea. Life soon became very hazardous, and it seemed better to escape with the soldiers. They then settled in Liepzig, and having had to leave all their worldly possessions behind them, they had to begin all over again. Some twelve or more months later, while they were still investigating reality through the Theosophical Society, they had the joy of meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Ober and Miss Alma Knoblock, who gave to them the glorious message of Bahá’u’lláh. They then knew that they had found what they had long sought, The Pearl of Great Price, and thereafter they gave all attention to the study of the Sacred utterances.

Yusuf Khan-i-Vujdani

Distinguished Persian Baha’i teacher. d. 1934

Dr. Arastu Khan Hakim (1877-1934)

Dr. Arastu Khan was the grandson of Hakim Masih, court physician to Muhammad Shah, and the first Jewish Baha’i. Hakim Masih had learned something of the new faith through Tahirih herself, during the early days of the Báb’s manifestation, when he was in Baghdad, and from that time on he had searched for the source of her power. Later in Tihran he offered to visit the prison and treat a Baha’i child, when the Muslim doctors had refused; the child's father was the famous Ismu’llahu'l-Asdaq, and in the course of these visits Hakim Masih became a Baha'i. He later achieved fame in the Cause, and among other Tablets, Bahá’u’lláh revealed the following for him:

"In the name of God, the Wise, the All-knowing: O Hakim, be staunch in the faith of thy Lord, that the blasts of oppressors may not cause thee to shake; be enduring in the Cause of thy Lord, by thy trust in the Lord and His might; and say, O men, how long will ye sin and stray, how long will ye place passion over salvation? Do ye not see that those who left your midst have not returned, that those who were scattered have not again been gathered? Ere long shall your days to come pass by as your days that are gone. Fear your merciful Lord: by the one true God He hath desired only that which will draw you close unto Him and cause you to enter the realms of eternity, and He is the Giver, the Kind. Eat ye of the fruit of the eternal tree which is ever at hand, for those bereft of it are back of heavy veils… Then know We are imprisoned where eyes can never penetrate, where ears cannot distinguish the words that God the Wise, the Able, and the Knowing doth reveal. By such means have they sought to withhold God’s slaves from hearing the words of their Lord, that His light might go out in the midst of His creatures; but God in His might hath revealed what He willed unto those who were turning toward Him with radiant faces. Then guard what We have entrusted to thee: thou hast in the sight of God a high station; praise Him, be of those who acclaim Him. Grieve not over that which hath come upon Us, be content with what God hath desired for Us, for We are in radiant gladness, and all praise is meet for the Lord of the heavens and earth.”

Dr. Arastu’s father Hakim Sulayman was likewise a Baha’i and Dr. Arastu himself gradually increased his services in the Cause as he grew to manhood. Meanwhile he was carrying on the family tradition, as are his sons today, of practicing medicine.