UB student Joseph Snyder was remembered on Friday for his sense of humor. Jonathan Newman, for keeping hope. Christopher D'Abbracci, for his love of life.
Snyder, Newman and D'Abbracci were three of the 10 UB students who passed away during this past academic year, and whose memories were honored on Friday at a remembrance ceremony in the Student Union.
UB students Aaron Coonick, Dominic Kin Fu Ho, Nina Hurley, Timothy Reinhart, David Roustum, Richard Szatynski and Kazutoshi Yoda were also remembered at the memorial.
For the friends and families of the students, the memorial brought out a range of emotions. At some points, tissues were passed around for those holding back tears. At other times, the room filled with laughter as people remembered their loved ones and shared stories.
Event organizers Kerry Diekman and Michael Mancini said they wanted the event to be a way for people who have lost someone important to come together with others in the same situation.
"We used to do individual memorials, but we felt it was really important for everyone to get to know all the students that passed away and their family and friends," said Diekman, a graduate assistant for Student Affairs. "UB is such a big school, we wanted to recognize those students who may have gotten lost in the shuffle."
Because of the added emotional importance, planning Friday's memorial was not always easy, Mancini said.
"When planning something you get disconnected. You get removed from it," said Mancini, also a graduate assistant for Student Affairs. "It got emotional when I had to call parents."
Dennis Black, vice president for Student Affairs, led part of the memorial, recognizing each student by reading his or her name.
"Why did we have to lose these special people?" Black said to those in attendance.
Rev. Patrick Keleher, director of Campus Ministries, urged families and friends to share the memories of their loved ones.
"Each of these families doesn't know the other nine," Keleher said. "Let's use this time as a chance to remember, not just the memory of our own but the memory of others."
Some friends and family members took the opportunity to speak at the memorial. Issa Roustum, a professor of Arabic ay UB, spoke about his nephew David, who died while serving in Iraq.
"His body left us, but he will remain with us forever," Roustum said.
A friend of Christopher D'Abbracci chose to talk about his friend's lust for life.
"Chris D'Abbracci represented the word 'life.' One thing everyone loved about Chris was his infamous smirk," he said. "He'd get it when he was about to say something funny. He was a great guy who was always willing to help people out."
Jonathan Newman's mother sobbed during her reflection on her son's life, in which she remembered his goals at UB.
"Jonathan loved this school," she said. "He wanted to be a writer and at the time of his death he was working on three novels. He sent me an e-mail one time about hope. Hope saves us all. Always remember to keep your hope."
Aaron Coonick's sister also spoke about her brother's time at UB.
"He enjoyed all aspects of student life and played on the UB baseball team as a freshman. I want to thank UB for having this memorial service because it truly means a lot to my family," she said.
After the personal reflections, the ceremony moved outside, where 10 bricks engraved with the students' names were unveiled on the wall of the Student Union. Family members and friends lit candles and held them up to the names.
"These bricks will act as a presence," Keleher said. "But the lasting memory isn't in those transcriptions on those bricks, but in our hearts."
After the ceremonies, UB community members gathered at a reception in the Student Union Flag Room. Amid bouquets of flowers, people placed pictures and mementos of their loved ones for others to see.
Kristina Nosal, a senior communication and design major, attended the service in honor of Joseph Snyder.
"Joe was known for his sense of humor," Nosal said. "He was a funny guy and people loved to be around him."
Nosal said she appreciated the memorial service.
"I thought it was really nice that they did something like this for the families and everything. Bringing people together was good. It makes you feel better knowing others went through the same things," she said.
