Page 239 - YB1965

In a memory we admit to an emptiness within-a recog· nition of something meaningful in our lives which has be- come a part of the past. Unlike the momentary anguish of a man who has lost his wallet, this emptiness may mellow with time, but it can never wholly disappear. What kind of an attachment is this, the loss of which is so deeply marked within us? There is only one-the attachment to a human being. Dr. Summers was a remarkable example of a human being whose character and personality generated this kind of attachment. Few men are this, for few men are complete, and few men are so self-sufficient. In a rare occurrence one meets a person who does not show even a hint of the often found craving to be something he is not. Dr. Summers was in the truest sense pleased with what he was. Never wasted was the energy of his brilliant mind in fruitless longings. Always the greatest joys were his tasks of the day. For the rest of us who long and are dissatisfied, we could not help hut be drawn to a man who had lived so successfully. Those who knew Dr. Summers admired him for his thor- ough command of physics. Those who were more closely acquainted with him were impressed with his knowledge in all fields of learning. But to those who knew him best he was a man whose every spoken word had meaning for the listener. We no longer see him, pipe in mouth, moving across the campus with his characteristic shuffle, his white hair standing up in the wind, but his image of a person whose remark. able knowledge and creativity led to true happiness will remain in the minds and hearts of his students as a true in- spiration for their lives ahead. Gregory Tassey, '65 247