Parents, siblings and graduating seniors crowded around University of Mississippi landmarks for photos one more time Saturday before leaving with their various, well-earned degrees.
But Robert Byrd and his family were missing from among the masses scattered around campus landmarks such as the Walk of Champions and the Lyceum.
A plane crash Friday that killed his father, two brothers and one brother’s fiancée flying down to his commencement sent Byrd back home to Asheville, N.C., the day before he would have graduated.
Brandi Hephner Labanc, vice chancellor for student affairs, said the Byrd family would be missed at Saturday’s ceremonies.
“This is something that is hard to believe and deeply saddening,” Labanc said. “Our hearts and prayers go out to him and his family.”
Labanc said the university first heard of the crash from a phone call with the University-Oxford Airport, where the Byrd family would have landed.
“Our initial response was to support the student,” Labanc said. “We went to him and met with him. We wanted to make sure he had the support he needed from the university.”
At the School of Business Administration commencement ceremony where Byrd received a degree in finance, Dean Ken Cyree called for a moment of silence to support Byrd.
“We’re very saddened by his loss,” Cyree said. “It’s such a tragedy at such a happy time in his life.”
Bonnie Van Ness, department chair and Otho Smith professor of finance, said she could not imagine the pain of losing several family members at one time. She said, though it saddens her to see any of her students suffer a loss, one of this magnitude is “truly unfathomable.”
“I know I speak for the entire finance department in saying that our thoughts and prayers go out to him,” Van Ness said. “I hope that we, as his Ole Miss family, can provide some comfort as he goes through the grieving process.”
Students on campus, even those who did not know Byrd, were grieved at the news.
“I don’t know (Byrd) because this is a big campus, but I feel so sorry for him,” Carlie Moon, a graduating social work major, said. “I know if that were my family, I would be devastated.”
Jermarion Armstrong, a classmate who graduated Saturday, said this was supposed to be a happy time for them.
“I’ll just pray for him, for his family,” Armstrong said. “I can’t even imagine how he feels right now.”
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