Daniel

I have just received the devastating news that Daniel Ahlsen died last Tuesday in his sleep. Daniel graduated last year and spent last term in Ethiopia with his close friend Nareg from Jordan. He had returned to Sweden and apparently fell into a diabetic coma from which he did not wake.

I have telephoned his family and offered our all too inadequate condolences and told them of our shock and sadness.

We will use the college meeting on Tuesday to remember and celebrate Daniel's life. This will give us time to gather our personal thoughts and express private grief before the college meets together as a community.

Daniel was one of Nicky's advisees so I was the lucky guy who shared their advisor meals and got to know him well. He had many admirable qualities and was greatly respected by his fellow students and all the staff. He was an outstanding representative of student views on the Student Council and as deputy rep at board meetings. He was tactful, considerate, thoughtful and very supportive of individuals and the college in all he did. He spoke effectively and lucidly.

I remember his role in establishing "John's Burgers" with great affection. I was honoured to be a minor part of that fund raising initiative and will not forget the sensitivity he and the others displayed while consulting me at all stages of their planning. The logo for John's Burger now has a special poignancy for me. I have a badge and copies of the original artwork which I will treasure as a personal memory of Daniel.

It must be particularly hard for his closest friends to come to terms with their loss. I think particularly of Akin, with whom he argued incessantly in our house over virtually any topic you could mention, and Nareg, with whom he seemed to me to share so much, including a zany sense of humour. I know there are many more of you who were also very close to Daniel and will have a much wider range and depth of stories and feelings than I. Please share them with us - the funny as well as the serious.

Those of us who know you at the college are thinking of you as well as Daniel and his family. We are left with memories of a fantastic guy - one who would have made a telling difference to so many lives had he not succumbed to this cruel illness.

May he rest in peace.

John