“We found that he had passed away without returning to consciousness. Soon after we entered the house, the monsoon broke in torrents of rain. The house shook under the fierce attacks of the raging tempest.... The bereaved wife calmly gathered the friends together in the little sitting room, passed around the hymn books among them and asked them all to sing. Through the long hours of that terrible storm, they sang those hymns of Christian faith and hope and comfort. In the interval between these songs of the night, they talked of the future. One expressed concern about the finishing of the new church. (A part of his ebbing strength Boon had spent in explaining the details of the drawings he had made for the roof of the church.) It would be difficult to find a contractor who would be willing to take up the work that had fallen from a dead hand, owing to a superstition that the building would be haunted. Then Kru Thien Pow, head teacher in the Boys’ High School and a most devoted friend of the fallen chief, broke down and wept aloud: ‘I am not thinking of the new church,’ he said, ‘some one will be found to complete that work. I am thinking of the Kingdom of Christ in Siam. Who will take the vacant place in this service?’” The death of Boon Itt occurred May 8, 1903. Besides his widow, he left three children, Samuel Buntoon, Eliza Brante and Phreida. AN APPRECIATION The death of Boon Itt caused inexpressible sorrow and dismay among all who knew him, both in Siam and America. It brought forth universal testimonies of esteem for the man; friends seemed to vie with each other in veneration of his memory. Almost spontaneously there arose the suggestion to erect as a memorial to him a building that would provide facilities for the social work among young men which he had inaugurated. Committees both in Siam and in the United States met with cordial response to the proposal. The Crown Prince esteemed it a pleasure to make the first contribution for Siam towards the proposed building, while members of the government gladly participated in the fund. The king of Siam, who was absent at the time, expressed his intention to assist when he learned of the project after his return.