Skidmore College freshman Willem “Will” Golden was recalled Tuesday evening as the kind of hockey player who celebrated an assist more than a goal, and the kind of friend whose presence could light up a room or make you laugh.
“It was clear that he enjoyed life and loved when people around him were enjoying life,” college hockey teammate Anthony Bird recalled at a memorial service and candlelight vigil for Golden held at the Zankel Music Center.
Students, faculty and staff packed the 600-seat Ladd Auditorium at the campus music center, many dabbing their eyes as teammates spoke of him and senior Emma Marshall sang the Beatles “Let It Be.”
Golden, 20, of Cohasset, Massachusetts, died Saturday after falling from a roof at a three-story house near the University of Delaware. Police in Newark, Delaware, said he went out alone, the roof was wet from rain, and he slipped.
No foul play is suspected, police said.
Published reports in Delaware said the house was known as student housing, and neighbors said it was common for people to go out on the roof.
Golden’s funeral will be this morning in Cohasset. His family asked that his Skidmore hockey jersey be sent to drape his coffin.
Golden was a college hockey player and also played on a Massachusetts state champion lacrosse team, and he had friends on both Skidmore teams. Hockey players in their jerseys sat in front at the service, with the lacrosse players behind them.
In his college hockey career, Golden had two goals and one assist. “He celebrated that one assist more than his first collegiate goal,” Bird said. “He would have wanted every one of us to make the person next to them laugh.”
To friends, he was “Will,” but to teammates, he was “Goldie.”
“Goldie was more than a teammate. He was a brother,” one player dressed in his green-and-gold trimmed hockey jersey recalled during candlelight remembrances.
College President Philip Glotzbach said Golden didn’t live long enough to see a legacy of accomplishments, but during a short life he showed great promise.
This has been a sad time for Skidmore. Michael Hedges, 19, of Lenox, Massachusetts, was killed by a drunken driver while walking on Clinton Street in Wilton last Halloween. The driver, Thomas Gorman, pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced on Monday to 5 to 15 years in prison.
The college already planned to have additional counseling services this week because of the sentencing, and is making same-day appointments available to students dealing with grief over Golden and Hedges all this week.
Freshman class President Nigel Smith said the deaths should be taken as a testament to how precious life is.
“Tonight I urge you to make your hugs a little tighter, your handshakes a little firmer, and your smiles a little wider, because whether they are a friend, acquaintance or stranger, you do not know when it will be the last time,” Smith said.
In the Zankel lobby, students and staff could sign cards or send personal messages that will be delivered to Golden’s family.
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