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Wor. Bro. Wilford E. KnoepfliBy R.W.Bro. R.W.L. Clarke Wor. Bro. Wilford E. Knoepfli was initiated, passed and raised in Brant Lodge 45 in October 1936. He was Worshipful Master of this Lodge in 1945. During his year he initiated 17, passed 17 & raised 18, this is a total of 52 degrees conferred in his year. Wow! As I have not been able to Locate the minute book for 1945, I am printing the Funeral address given by Wor. Bro. Jack Herron on behalf of the Lodge on Feb. 1/02. “Being extraordinary does not consist of doing extraordinary things, but of doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.” This quote describes our experience of Wilf rather well. To the new mason, Wilf was the remarkably able man who confronted him on the floor of the Lodge and whose delivery, sincerity and rich voice impressed the lessons of Masonry. To the more experienced Mason, Wilf set an example of what he might achieve in an understanding of himself and a kindly, gentle regard for others. To the Master and Past Masters of the Lodge, he was the standard by which we judge ourselves. Will we ever manage to learn his joy, his passion, his sincerity, his speed to compliment, his slowness to judge, his gentleness in direction? For over fifty years as a Past Master, he encouraged, enjoyed and gently led. At the Installation of a new Master, the Ceremony ends with a long address concerning the finest qualities we might gain through our toils in Masonry. Let me quote a section of it. “The man who, without courting applause, is loved by all noble-minded men, respected by his superiors, and revered by his subordinates; the man who never proclaims what he has done, will do, can do, but where need is, will lay hold with dispassionate courage, circumspect resolution, indefatigable exertion, and a rare power of mind, and who will not cease until he has accomplished his work, but who then, without pretention, will retire into the multitude, because he did the good act, not for himself, but for the cause of good. If you meet such a man, you will see the personification of brotherly love, relief, and truth; and you will have found the ideal of a Freemason.” It is a fine description of Wilf! Many times over the years, on each of us becoming a Master Mason, Wilf delivered the real objective of Masonry with the words: “Let the emblems of mortality …. Lead you to contemplate your inevitable destiny, and guide your reflections to that most important of all human studies, the knowledge of yourself.” He had achieved and taught us to work toward that knowledge. At the end of every meeting, we part for a time with the words we now say to Wilf: “Happy to meet, sorry to part, happy to meet again” |