More than 200 people gathered in Ignatius Chapel at 5 p.m. March 28 for the memorial service of criminal justice freshman Christopher Gregory, who died March 27 from a brain aneurism.

Dean of University Ministry Kurt Bindewald introduced friends and family who shared stories about Gregory’s life and expressed their grief over his unexpected death.

They remembered him as the guy who loved ranch dressing, cracking jokes and giving bear hugs.

Gregory’s “laughter and love for life” became the resounding theme of the ceremony.

Matt Nolan, jazz freshman, had known Gregory since kindergarten and began the ceremony with several humorous stories that brought laughter to the teary-eyed faces in the room.

“That’s the kind of stuff that he wanted us to remember him by,” Nolan said.

“I’m the luckiest guy in the room because I got to know him for 14 years and most of you knew him for less than one, and that’s a shame.”

Close friend Eleanor Trant, psychology freshman, read a letter addressed to Gregory recalling late night trips to McDonalds, watching episode upon episode of Cops and his “great, big engulfing hugs.”

“You have changed the lives of everyone you have met for the better, so rest in peace my sweet friend and know that we will be ‘besties’ forever,” Trant said.

His father, Eric Gregory, thanked the Jesuits and other members of the community for their support during his son’s hospitalization and death.

“I hear sniffles and I hear tears, and I know that they are genuine, but I want you to know that Chris is still your friend and so are we,” he said.

His oldest brother John recalled Gregory’s famous sense of competition on the basketball court and his penchant for borrowing other people’s clothes.

Loyola’s president, the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., imparted a religious tenor to the ceremony, reading from the Book of Sirach and expounding upon the importance of the Resurrection and maintaining faith through trying experiences.

“The challenge for us and our faith in the resurrection is to make the past part of our present and part of our future so that his love, God’s and Chris’s, will continue to change us, shape us, and carry us into the future,” he said. “It’s not just about remembering, it’s about living.”

A projector displayed a picture of Gregory playing the guitar behind the podium and a poster board was set up in the back with pictures of him and the people he loved.

After the ceremony everyone was invited to Manresa Hall to sign a blanket and record messages in a journal for the Gregory family.

CHRIS GREGORY12/13/88 – 3/27/08

“The hardest I ever saw him laugh was at something he said – the only person that could crack him up was himself.”- Matt Nolan

“Chris always came to our side whenever we needed him, which made us depend on him so much.”- Kelsey Van Bree

“It was the small things about Chris that really touchedyou.”- Nick Magnello

“You touched so many people’s lives in huge ways, but I think it’s the little things that we’re going to miss the most.”- Eleanor Trant

“No matter how old, children are not supposed to die. And it’s one of the hardest things no matter what we do to come to terms with.”- The Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., University President

Steve Heath can be reached at [email protected].