'92 graduate dies in ski accident

A 1992 University graduate died late last month in a skiing accident in the former Czechoslovakia. David Garner, a 23-year-old Wharton graduate, died February 28 while working in a ski area, his father, Greg Garner, said yesterday. "He was working in Czechoslovakia for an enterprise fund," Garner said. "They were up looking at a ski area to put money into it." Garner said that his son was an expert skiier and a passionate believer in the free enterprise system, both of which compelled him to work in that area of the world. Assistant to the President Nicholas Constan, who taught Garner in legal studies class, called Garner an "unusually nice and good humored kid." Constan, also noting that Garner was an expert skiier, said there suspicions that he may have triggered a mini avalanche which led to his death. "It's one of those things that humbles us all," Constan said. "My generation is supposed to die before his." Although a memorial service for Garner was held about a week and a half ago in his home town of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, not all his friends could make the journey up north. Several of his fellow classmates have organized a memorial service this Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Christian Association. "We wanted to do something at Penn because a lot of his friends are still there and a lot of us live in the area," fellow 1992 graduate Lisa Scopa said. "The service is for anybody that wants to come. We wanted to have a central place to be." Scopa said that Garner was involved in many activities while he at the Unversity -- he was captain of the ski team -- and was an avid mountain biker. Andy Beckwith, a 1992 graduate who is also helping to coordinate the memorial service planned for this Saturday, said that he is expecting a lot of people at the service. "We'll be showing a portion of the service that was held in Canada and will encourage anyone who wants to say something, to do so at the service," Beckwith said. He added that they have received many calls from people wanting to make donations to charities in David's name. Beckwith said he hopes that instead they can "erect some kind of memorial" with the help of his family and faculty who knew him. "Maybe a Canadian Maple tree with a plaque, or a bike rack, or possibly a bench in Steinberg-Dietrich [Hall]," Beckwith said. He added that one of the main reasons for the memorial service is to have everyone get together and remember their friend. "The best sort of therapy is to come together and tell funny stories of how much fun Dave was," Beckwith said. "We'll probably all move over to the Palladium after the service." Garner is survived by his mother and father, sister Wendy and a number of other family members.

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