[49-1501b] WILLIAM G. COLBY, same as above, m 2d time, Mar. 9, 1918, LOUISE STOTTS, b Jan. 11, 1891; dau James U. and Fidelia (McMillian) Stotts. Missionary; res. Tujunga, Cal. (1920.)
One child:
Virginia Louise, b Mar. 31, 1920.
William G. Colby was a missionary; he took his Bible training at Nyack-on-the-Hudson. In 1915 he married Elsie Jones of Los Angeles and they started to go to China, but she was taken very ill of seasickness on the ocean, and died of heart failure while the boat was pulling into port at Honolulu. She was buried there while Mr. Colby proceeded on to China. He spent several months in Central China in language study, and assisted in the office of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, under whose auspices he was working. In November, 1916, he went to the province Kansuh, on the extreme western border of China, where he spent a year in language study after which he was put in charge of the station at Kongchang, a large and almost unworked field. He suffered a great deal of hardship in this field as he was deprived of American associations and American mode of living; but he laid the foundation for exeellent work, while pursuing his studies in the Chinese language, and also erecting a home.
In March, 1918, he married Louise Stotts and they went to Kongchang as soon as the war between the North and South subsided sufficiently to make the roads passable. One Sunday morning in July, 1919, Mr. Colby was suddenly taken ill with very severe pains which proved to be neuritis. After suffering severely for a fortnight he died Aug. 5. Mr. Colby was a man of brilliant mental capacity, but was not very robust, dying at the age of twenty-seven. However, he was an indefatigable worker, and it seemed as if his real services had only begun when he was called by the hand of Death. The comment of the chairman of the Mission Board by the side of his grave was ‘‘He has in his four years in China accomplished what most of us did in twelve.”
His sincerity and devotion to his faith were the big outstanding qualities of his life. He was always generous towards others and frank to admit his own wrong. He was highly appreciated by all with whom he came in contact, and a tribute was paid to his memory by the Governor of the Province, as well as by several other lesser officials.