A standing-room-only crowd filled the Thayer School of Engineering's Great Hall yesterday afternoon to celebrate and remember the life of Heidi Hachtel '96, a Thayer student who was killed last month.
Hachtel, 22, and her father Stephen Hachtel, 47, died on Dec. 20 when their car was struck in a head-on collision in Washington state. Neither of the two passengers in the other car were seriously injured.
College Chaplain Gwendolyn King led yesterday's service, which was attended by approximately 150 people -- including family members, friends, teammates, classmates and administrators and faculty from both the College and the Thayer School.
"One thing is for certain," King said in her opening reflections. "Heidi was loved by her friends, her family and her colleagues alike."
Roger Howes, Thayer School machine shop supervisor, said he will remember Heidi as "a happy-go-lucky kid."
"The Heidi we'll remember is the one who brought us coffee, who gave us neck rubs when we were listening to some boring lecture and ate Ben and Jerry's ice cream," he said.
Michael McCord '96, a Thayer School student, said he remembered Hachtel as a special person and a good friend.
"She did little things -- she would listen and would always have the right response," McCord said. "She had this amazing ability to make your day better."
As a Dartmouth undergraduate, Hachtel was goalkeeper of the women's soccer team. As a junior she was a first team All-Ivy selection after recording 10 shutouts, a season record, and sending her on her way to a career record for shutouts.
Last fall she helped the soccer team by filling in as goal-keeping coach when the team was without one.
Teammate Megan Owens '96 said Hachtel loved soccer with a passion and described her as a great team player.
"Heidi was the most team-oriented member of the squad," Owens said. "She was always the one to hold the door open for people and carry more equipment than necessary."
Owens said she came to know Hachtel not only as a teammate, but as a very social person with a great sense of humor who always had her door open for her friends.
"When you went to Heidi's room you could always find her with a beer," Owens fondly said. "She would always invite you in and offer you a beer."
Hachtel was also a member of the Dartmouth Formula Racing team. She accompanied the team to its competition in Detroit last May.
Jeffrey Giberstein '95, a Thayer School student and a member of the team, said Hachtel treated everyone on the team as a close friend.
"More than anyone, Heidi knew what the word 'team' meant," he said. "She felt that the word 'team' really meant family."
Giberstein said Hachtel made working long hours bearable for the members of the racing team who often worked late into the night.
"You thought she'd be sneaking away for a cat nap," Giberstein said. "But she'd come back a few minutes later with coffee. She was always ready to share a back rub, a smile or a hug."
The service's final speaker, Hachtel's good friend and roommate Camille Noel '96, said she had been friends with Hachtel since they were in the same undergraduate advisor group as freshmen. She, like many of the other speakers, spoke about Hachtel's warmth and friendship. "She would accept anyone for who they were," Noel said.
