The sudden loss of any friend is, of course, a jarring and painful experience. At once, there is a void in the lives of those loved ones left behind, a hurt not easily mended by the passage of time. With the passing of Rudy Kelly, the chasm in our lives is proving to be quite bigger than we thought. In this time of remembrance and grief, it is important for us to recall Rudy as he was: a loving son and brother, a devoted uncle, a fiercely loyal friend and a young man who possessed a great passion for life and adventure.
As far as friends go, one would be hard pressed to find one as steadfast and trustworthy as Rudy. While many of us take our personal relationships for granted, Rudy was filled with a genuine love for those around him. He understood the importance of friendship, undoubtedly more than anyone I have ever met. In times of personal crisis, one could always count on Rudy to be the first to offer his support. Whether it be carrying a friend to the hospital, giving generously to a fraternity brother dealing with financial crisis (never once demanding recompense) or simply proof-reading a roommate's paper, there was no task, large or small, that Rudy would not undertake to ensure the security of his friends. Rudy saw his fraternity brothers and his other friends on campus as extensions of his family and treated them as such. In my eyes, one of the greatest injustices of Rudy's passing is that he can not be here to comfort the rest of us. Perhaps that is a selfish thought, but I have no doubt in my mind that had this tragedy befallen any one of his friends, the rest of us would have instinctively sought comfort in the tenderness and compassion that Rudy exuded.
Anyone lucky enough to be close to Rudy would agree that he arose each day with an uncanny exuberance, a passion for life and knowledge, and a thirst for the unknown. He always had an exciting restlessness about him. Whether it be a movie he hadn't seen, a book he hadn't read, or a place he hadn't visited, Rudy saw each waking day as an adventure, with the possibility of broadening his horizons beyond those of a typical 21- year-old male, being his ultimate goal. One of Rudy's most amusing idiosyncrasies was the rapidity with which he changed his life's aims. One day, he would declare that he would go into politics after his time in the army. The next, he would vow to either work for the CIA, or possibly own a bar somewhere in the Caribbean. A few days later, he would once again declare his intent to run for political office. One thing is certain, however. No matter what path he might have chosen, Rudy, through his optimism and hard work would have been guaranteed great success. Now, as Rudy embarks upon the greatest unknown in the universe, we can only imagine that he is greeting this new journey with the same enthusiasm and vigor that we had always known him to possess in his life on earth.
- Brother Michael Q. Smith '06