At his funeral last month, Engineering sophomore Ryan Smith's father spoke of "the different Ryans" that Smith's family and friends knew.
He was a passionate computer enthusiast, a trombone-player in the Strath Haven High School band, a diving coach at the Rose Valley Pool pool, a member of his high school swim team and a neighbor in a small town where "everyone so much enjoyed talking and spending time with [him] because of the enjoyable, funny, brilliant and happy guy he was."
His father, Michael Smith, added in a later conversation that "Ryan was always a very happy, fun, creative and compassionate young man."
A Digital Media Design major who grew up in Rose Valley, Pa., Smith died Dec. 11 as a result of injuries suffered after a fall from the roof of the Quadrangle Dec. 6. A group of Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania nurses said they saw Ryan Smith "climbing skillfully over, up and around the different parts of the dorm roof," his father said. His friends said climbing was a favorite pastime.
Michael Smith described his son's great passion for computers and skills in animation. Without Ryan Smith's abilities and creativity, "future versions of World of Warcraft or the next Pixar release will not be what they might have been," he said.
His father also recalled fond memories of living in England, traveling to the Galapagos Islands, skiing in Colorado and spending time in the Grand Tetons - one of Ryan Smith's favorite places to be.
"We know we are the luckiest and most fortunate family ever because we got to share the time we had together so fully," his father said.
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