Craig LeDuc and Kyle Schrade were recalled at a campus memorial service on Thursday, Jan. 8, for their spontaneous wit, their love of laughter and their infectious personalities.
President Roger Hull announced the creation of a scholarship in memory of the two men, who were killed in car accident on Dec. 13.
“There is little I can say or do …” Hull said before an audience of several hundred in Memorial Chapel. “But I hope that a scholarship in their names will give both families a measure of relief.”
Hull recalled Kyle, who occasionally helped look after the president's children, and his love of basketball and video games. At the end of his visits to the President's House, “I had to pry him away from [the television],” Hull said.
Byron Nichols, professor of political science, remembered Kyle for his enthusiastic sharing in class, his integrity and his sense of responsibility for his academics. Speaking of the various roles people play in a college setting, Nichols said that Schrade transcended the role of student to prove that “role doesn't matter, the person does.”
Stephen Schmidt, associate professor of economics, spoke about looking out at a class to see Craig, “a light on in his face,” as he understood a topic in class. “He was thinking and … understanding the world we live in.”
Wes Shaffer '05 spoke of the duo's “laid-back attitude” and “their ability to make people feel special.” Steve Kimmel-Hurt '05 remembered the constant laughter they enjoyed. He spoke of one evening when Kyle, sometimes reserved on first encounters, met some new friends and by the end of the evening had become the center of attention.
Aaron Ginsberg '05 talked about Craig's love of the Red Sox and his uncanny ability to multi-task, watching Seinfeld while reading the sports pages. He also spoke of the evening when Craig broke a door after a Red Sox loss in the playoffs.
Avi Abecassis, a childhood friend of Craig's and a student at U Mass., asked friends of the two men to stand as he related an exchange between Craig and Kyle in which they spoke of their fortune in having such good friends. “No one has friends like ours,” he recalled one of them saying.
Viki Brooks-McDonald, Protestant chaplain, spoke of the support that friends have given each other since the tragedy and reminded them that counselors and chaplains are available.
Thoughts and prayers were also offered by Bonnie Cramer, Hillel program assistant; and Thomas P. Boland Jr., Catholic chaplain. The Garnet Minstrelles performed “Amazing Grace.” Prof. Dianne McMullen was organist and accompanist.
Friends have recalled Kyle, a political science major, as a dedicated member of Sigma Chi fraternity who loved playing and watching basketball. Despite commuting to classes from his home in Delanson this past term, he was one of the fraternity's most involved members, according to one friend. Another recalled Kyle as a young man who overcame an initial shyness to become a popular student who enjoyed trading barbs with friends over his basketball prowess. “Once we got to know him, he was the biggest goofball,” said Ryan Smith '05, relating Schrade's boast that his former roommate could “dunk on anyone.” A high school basketball player at Duanesburg Central School, Kyle continued to play in intramurals. He was an avid fan of Union basketball and a DJ on College radio station WRUC. As a student, he worked in Union's Office of College Relations.
Schrade's family includes his father, Steven '70; his mother, Sherry, who received her master's in teaching from the College in 1990; and his sisters, Kelly '99 and Amy '02. Kelly read A.E. Housman's poem, “To An Athlete Dying Young,” at Thursday's memorial.
A classmate remembered LeDuc as a bright, friendly and curious student who early in his time at Union “changed majors just about every week.” As an economics major, he wrote a paper about the effects of changing oil prices on consumer spending patterns. LeDuc would stay up late to discuss the merits of each player on the Red Sox roster, said Smith, himself a Yankees fan. This year, LeDuc had begun to get involved with the College's Concert Committee, an activity he shared with Schrade. Friends said that LeDuc and Schrade were looking forward next year to living in a residence hall at the former Ramada Inn on Nott Street, now being renovated by the College.