A memorial service for Kyle Miller, a junior zoology major who died in a kayaking accident last month, will be held this week.
At the service, a tree will be planted, a bird feeder hung and a plaque presented. The service will be held between Towers Hall and the Battelle Fine Arts Center on April 23 at 6:30 p.m. Kelsey Burkitt, a student involved with the project, said that Miller’s classmates wanted to do something that would last and remind people of Miller’s passion for animals.
Miller and Austin Gifford, a sophomore physics major, were kayaking at Prairie Oaks Metro Park, when their boats overturned trying to save Miller’s dog. Gifford was able to get to shore and was treated at an area hospital.
Kelsey Burkitt, a sophomore and a zoology and conservation science classmate of Miller’s, said “Kyle loved outside, loved being outdoors … We wanted to do something outdoors that reminded us of Kyle. We wanted to do something that people would remember him by.”
Each member of the zoology class will take part in the ceremony by taking turns placing dirt on the tree.
“He impacted everybody so much, even if you weren’t close, just by his contagious personality. His love for the outdoors, we all just shared it and him being gone has brought us closer as being a zoo family for sure, but we just want to do whatever we can as we can keep his memory going,” Burkitt said.
The Service Department removed a diseased ash tree between Towers and Battelle last year. Dirk White, director of special projects, said that the memorial tree would be planted near where Towers and Battelle are diagonal to each other.
The Web page set up for Miller’s memorial has raised $975 toward the goal of $1,000.
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