Ohio University students will hold a memorial service tonight in honor of Gloria Dawes, a student who died during Labor Day weekend.
All students are invited to the service from 5 to 7 tonight in Galbreath Chapel.
Matt Moore, who graduated from OU in June with a degree in finance and marketing and had known Dawes for years, helped organize the event.
He referred to the memorial service held for student Matthew Morris, who died last year.
“It was a good, healthy thing for everyone to get together and talk,” he said.
Dawes was a 22-year-old senior from Adena, Ohio, who had transferred to OU from West Virginia University. She was studying special education and dance.
“Her dream was to use dance to reach out to sick children and to travel,” said Shelley Dawes, Gloria’s mother. “She loved OU and was so excited to start this year.”
Ohio University’s Dean of Students Office works with students when they want to organize a memorial service for an OU student who has died, said Kent Smith, vice president for Student Affairs.
“I’m glad students wanted to do a memorial for (Dawes), and I know we will support them in making it the type of memorial they want to have,” Smith said.
Dawes’ car was struck by an oncoming vehicle on I-77 near Byesville in Guernsey County. She died at the scene of the accident as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.
Ten people died in vehicle accidents in Ohio during the Labor Day weekend — down from 11 in 2010 and 24 in 2007, according to statistics from the State Highway Patrol.
A recent OU graduate, 23-year-old Ryan Payne, was a passenger in Dawes’ car and was taken to Southeastern Ohio Regional Medical Center and then to Grant Medical Center in Columbus with serious injuries.
OU officials contacted Dawes’ family after learning of her death, Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi said.
Patricia McSteen, associate dean of students, attended Dawes’ wake and gave her family the flag that had been flown over OU’s campus in Dawes’ honor, Lombardi said.
“I think it’s a tragedy for everyone involved — not only the family and her friends but Ohio University in general,” Smith said. “Offering the students the chance to have a memorial service is to provide some sense of closure for some students, and for others, it’s a way of honoring the memory of their friend.”
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