U. grad Adam Darling killed in plane crash over Croatia

His father remembers him as aHis father remembers him as a'man of unimpeachable integrity' To his friends and family, 1990 College graduate Adam Darling was full of life, love and compassion. Darling, confidential assistant for Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown, was killed at the age of 29 last Wednesday in the plane crash over Croatia that killed Brown and 31 other U.S. officials and businessmen. Darling was working for Deputy Commerce Secretary David Barram as an advance man and speech writer and had told friends recently that he was planning to go back to graduate school at the University of California at Berkeley in the fall. "He was a pure delight and inventive and uncluttered mind and was a man of unimpeachable integrity," Adam's father Darrell said last night. "He was extraordinarily kind and expressed it both in individual generosity and in shaping and conceptualizing public policy." Darrell Darling explained that Penn was extremely important to Adam and that he made the best of friends during his college years. "The friends he made at Penn were among the brightest minds," he said. "They were people who give a damn about the world." Adam's mother, Karen, said Adam had been accepted at a number of undergraduate schools and chose Penn because of its excellent History Department. She added that he loved to joke that he had visited many schools, but chose Penn because it was "a most beautiful spring day" when he visited. His father recalled Adam's graduation from Penn with extreme pride. "When he graduated from Penn he wore a Hawaiian victory wreath on his head," he said. "Although he never said what it meant to him, I think it was a statement that he was also graduating for his brother Matt who died in 1986 [and who studied at Hawaii Loa College]." Barram's assistant Caroline Fulton praised Adam last night as both a person and a colleague. "The thing that comes to mind when I think of Adam is how conscientious and thorough he was, yet at the same time what a joy he had," she said. "He loved life and was very professional and thorough in what he did. "He will be so missed," she added. "Everything about him was enthusiastic and 100 percent involved." Darling was born in Livermore, Calif., and grew up in Davis and Santa Cruz. He has worked at the International Trade Administration, as well as on President Clinton's 1992 campaign. Clinton celebrated Easter yesterday at Foundry United Methodist Church with Darling's parents and his sister Denise Wyldbore. Darling's parents asked church members to sing his favorite hymn, "This Is My Song," in his memory.