Members of the College community remembered Dan Boyer '94 with speeches, prayers and music at a memorial service in Rollins Chapel yesterday.
Approximately 500 students, professors and administrators joined Boyer's family for a ceremony of "celebration and thanksgiving" for his life but offered no explanations for his sudden death.
Boyer killed himself last Tuesday in a gun shop in Lebanon, N.H. No suicide note has been found and Boyer's friends say they do not know why he took his own life.
College Chaplain Gwendolyn King, who led the service, called Boyer "bright, vivacious, good-hearted and good-looking."
"He touched us all, if nothing more than to put us in touch with our own humanity," King said. "No one can take that away from us, not even Dan."
She said the service was designed to provide "comfort, healing, strength, love, a laugh here and there and refreshment for our souls."
Speakers remembered Boyer as a compassionate and sensitive friend with a ready smile. Boyer was a member of the varsity squash team and a brother in Zeta Psi fraternity and had recently been accepted to the medical school at the University of Pittsburgh.
Zeta Psi President Ryan Victor '94 called Boyer "one of the brightest lights" in the fraternity. He said the seniors in Zeta Psi are dedicating their last year at the College to Boyer.
"He represented everything we stand for: fidelity, love, friendship, truth and honor," Victor said.
Ninad Shroff '94, a member of the squash team, a Zete brother and a close friend, said Boyer possessed "seemingly endless energy."
"He had a knack to motivate anyone to do anything at any time," Shroff said, recalling a time when Boyer had convinced him to play hours of basketball, tennis and volleyball in sweltering heat.
Some who spoke said they had struggled with anger toward Boyer for taking his own life.
Jeff Yasuda '94, one of Boyer's roommates in Hanover, read from a letter he composed to Boyer after he died.
"I must admit that I was angry at you ... for hurting so many people, including myself," Yasuda said. But he said the anger has been replaced by happiness and thankfulness at having known Boyer.
King said Boyer's death left loved ones with "many questions."
"Who is to blame? Who could have done more to prevent this death? Didn't Dan know he had friends that he could count on? What could have driven him to commit such a desperate act?" King asked. "We will never know his private pain, his struggle or his aloneness."
Boyer's father Daniel said his son died from a "cerebral short circuit, the cause of which will never be understood."
"A wonderful son and beloved brother was taken away from us by some unknown force that overpowered him," Daniel Boyer III said.
Wayne Braille, a professor who led the Semester at Sea program that Boyer participated in last fall, said Boyer was the "glue" that bonded trip members together.
"He really cared about all of us, and he really loved all of us," Braille said.
Boyer's father thanked the College community for the support and caring his son's friends have shared since his death.
"Your words and outpouring of feelings have a very special place in our hearts. They will sustain us over the years," Boyer said.
"Rather than attempting to answer the unanswerable let us celebrate the various ways he has touched our lives," Boyer said.
After King's opening remarks, Jimmy Buffet's "He Went to Paris" was played. Buffet was one of Boyer's favorite musicians.
Debra Hafermann '94 played a piano piece in remembrance of Boyer, and Tanielle McBain '96 sang "Heroes." Several students sang "Dartmouth Undying" at the end of the ceremony.
The service was followed by a reception at Zeta Psi.
