Deceased students honored
April 22, 2008
Vocalist Lindsey Lang sings ‘How Great Thou Art’ as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Cathy Scroggs, Chancellor Brady Deaton and Missouri Students Association President Jim Kelley look on at the MU Remembers memorial service Monday in Stotler Lounge. The service recognized the seven MU students who have passed on in the last 12 months.
As MU spokesman Christian Basi quietly played a piano, MU students, faculty and staff members joined the families of eight students who died this past year to pay final respects.
The annual MU Remembers program was held Monday in Memorial Union.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Cathy Scroggs said the eight members of the “MU family” would be fondly remembered for their contributions to the university.
“One of the best aspects of my job is working so closely with students,” she said. “This is the time of their lives when all goals are achievable and all dreams are just within reach, and our efforts are to enable students to make those goals and dreams a reality. The saddest aspect of my job is learning that a student’s potential is extinguished through untimely death.”
Chancellor Brady Deaton said during the event that the students are being mourned “with great sadness.”
“As a parent, faculty member and administrator, I look upon our students and their zest for life and learning as blessings to be nurtured and cherished,” he said. “When they are taken from us we suffer a tremendous loss.”
The students honored Monday included sociology major Miranda Boeckman, 22, who died in June from a heart arrhythmia; general studies major Travis Cooper, 23, who died in May; agricultural systems management major Joel DeRosear, 22, who died in August of cancer; strategic communications major Stephanie Joseph, 21, who died in February of leukemia; Margaret Malm, 22, a graduate student in the business school’s Crosby MBA program, who died in September from injuries sustained in a car accident; MU junior and Missouri National Guard officer candidate Neilson Rudd, 22, who died in December after being hit by a car while assisting a stranded motorist; and agribusiness management major David Suthoff, 20, who died in May from an accidental drowning.
Freshman Evan Dalgaard, 19, who died Saturday from injuries sustained in a car accident, also was mentioned at the memorial.
During the ceremony, graduate student Lindsey Lang performed two songs, including “Amazing Grace,” and theater professor Clyde Ruffin read the poem “Elegy,” written by Bob Watts.
Missouri Students Association President Jim Kelley and Graduate Professional Council President Jennifer Holland read short biographies of the deceased.
Following the memorial, the Reynolds Alumni Center and Switzler Hall bells rang in honor of the students and the lights of Memorial Union were dimmed Monday night.
Scroggs said the students’ names also have been etched into a plaque in Memorial Union, and books featuring nameplates honoring each student have been donated to Ellis Library.
After the ceremony, Kelley said he hopes family and friends of those who died found comfort in the memorial.
“I don’t know if any event like this could ever heal all the hurt that family and the community feels, but I think we did our best and that’s all you can ask for,” he said.
Deaton said the students who died will not be forgotten by the MU community.
“Tomorrow the sun will shine on the quad and (Memorial Union’s) tower will be lighted once again,” he said. “But all of us here will not be the same. We will be forever grateful that our lives have been enriched by those MU remembers.”
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