On a blustery, snowy day, one that Nordic ski team member and avid outdoorsman Torin Tucker ’15 would have relished, around 700 members of the Dartmouth community gathered in Rollins Chapel for a service to honor and celebrate his memory. Tucker, who died Saturday while competing in a cross-country ski race in Craftsbury, Vt., is remembered for his ever-present smile, rosy cheeks and generous, ebullient nature.
The Rev. Nancy Vogele ’85 began the service by welcoming guests. College President Phil Hanlon then took to the podium to reflect on Tucker’s time at Dartmouth.
Tucker embodied the ideals that parents and teachers hope for in a son and student, Hanlon said, adding that he will be dearly missed.
After Hanlon’s remarks, Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson recited Robert Frost’s “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” and Rick Pinkston ’15 read Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Success.”
Donning a green mohawk and pink highlights, Silas Talbot ’15 and Karina Packer ’15 then spoke, reflecting on their experiences as Tucker’s teammates and friends.
Physics professor Hans Mueller and men’s cross-country ski team coach Ruff Patterson also spoke in memory of Tucker.
Recalling an important physics project, Mueller said Tucker had submitted his work as an attachment to a three-word email: “Here ya go.”
The crowd laughed.
After these remarks, guests took part in a responsive reading of “We Remember Them,” an adaptation of the poem by Sylvan Kamens and Rabbi Jack Riemer.
The Dartmouth Aires then sang “Dartmouth Undying,” and guests exited the chapel to an organ postlude of “Largo.”
As students and other mourners filed out into the snow, ushers, members of Chi Heorot fraternity, passed out candles. Led by Tucker’s family and the ski team, the crowd convened on Baker Lawn for a candle-lighting ceremony. Ushers made their way around the circle, lighting candles. Guarding quivering flames from the snow and wind, mourners stood in silence. After a reading of a poem, the Baker Library bells rang 20 times, once for each year of Tucker’s life.
Following the service, family and friends made their way to Collis Common Ground for a reception. A slideshow of photos played while guests wrote reflections on note cards for Tucker’s family. His mother, Kathryn Tucker, spoke briefly, encouraging those who knew her son to share memories.
