Freshman remembered as caring, witty friend
Kyle Masterson, who died Sunday, was a friend who cared deeply for those closest to him, offering them his creativity, wit and kindness, friends said Monday.
Published Feb. 28, 2006
Kyle Masterson was a friend who cared deeply for those closest to him. He always offered them his creativity, wit and kindness, Mr. Masterson's friends said Monday.
Mr. Masterson, a freshman business major, died on Sunday after falling from a balcony at Laws Hall. He was 18 years old.
"First and foremost, he was a good-natured man with a keen wit about him," said Joe Crain, a friend since high school.
Mr. Masterson, who graduated from Rolla Senior High School in 2005, was an active member of his high school's wrestling team and drama department.
"He was a member of improvisation club and into anything creative," said Christopher Kelley, a high school friend. "He was a really clever guy."
Friends described him as an intelligent, open-minded classmate and a talented actor. "He was in all the school plays," high school friend Grace Virant said.
Crain said Masterson found creative outlets to express his thoughts, and he shunned drugs and alcohol.
"He was an intelligent man and a very moral man," Crain said. "He had a very unique personality."
Crain said his fondest memories of Mr. Masterson were from their senior year in high school when the two had an acting class and a current events class together.
In the classes, Crain said he saw Mr. Masterson's debating skills and tolerance for others' ideas.
"He always gave very good arguments," Crain said. "He was one of the more intelligent people in the class. He thought about all his positions before he stated them."
Crain said Mr. Masterson was a skilled writer and was a cunning and educated voice in everything he did.
In college, Mr. Masterson excelled in academics and was an active student in his classes, said Nicole Beer, his Introduction to World Literature professor.
"His passionate curiosity for the world in which he lived in was a rare and wonderful thing to see in someone so young," Beer said.
Crain said that when Mr. Masterson was not spending time on high school art programs, he was a devoted son, brother and uncle.
"Kyle just adored his nephew and loved to play with him," Crain said. "He was such a family-oriented man who loved his family and friends."
Kelley said Mr. Masterson regularly went out of his way to comfort and look after his friends.
"He would give me a hug and see how I'm doing," Kelley said.
Mr. Masterson is survived by his mother and father, Mike and Kathy Masterson; an older brother, Jessie; and a nephew.
At the time of publication, no plans for a funeral or memorial had been announced.