Truman State University

Truman State University is an extended family to its students. The students planned this memorial together only knowing Connor a few short months. I am thankful as a family that we chose Truman for his future no matter how short his time there. He enjoyed every minute!  MamaC

Truman State pauses to remember Cunningham

Truman State University held a memorial service for Connor Cunningham, 19, in front of the John R. Kirk Memorial Wednesday night.

The Truman State University ROTC Color Guard raises the flag as it honors the life of freshman Connor Cunningham. Cunningham, 19, was a member of the ROTC during his short tenure at the university.

It was a silent night and somber scene on the Truman State University campus as hundreds of students gathered together to remember the life of one of their own.
Truman State University held a memorial service for Connor Cunningham, 19, in front of the John R. Kirk Memorial Wednesday night.
Cunningham was struck by a motor vehicle near the corners of Jefferson and Fible streets Oct. 25 around 8:30 p.m. He was found several blocks away from the scene and was transported to Northeast Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Cunningham only attended Truman for a short two months before passing away, but that didn’t lessen the impact he left on his classmates, advisors, fraternity brothers and friends at the university. He was described as an engaged and loving student as a freshman at the university.
He was also a member of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity and the ROTC. He was remembered as a selfless person, warmhearted, hilarious, polite and having a charming smile with a positive attitude by the people who knew him best on the Truman campus.
“I would not trade any of my time with Connor for anything,” Pi Kappa Phi member Matt Freeman said. “I am grateful to have known Connor, but I am even more grateful to the person he has helped me become.”
“Every time I think about him, I think about him just so happy and riding along on his bike like he always was,” high school friend Kennedy Martin said. “He didn’t waste his life. He didn’t waste it at all, not a second of it.”
“He had a way of making connections with people. Deep connections that would make anyone smile, laugh or feel comforted with just a look,” student advisor Melissa Mossinghoff said. “He made the community a family.”
“Connor brought smiles and laughs everywhere he went,” hometown friend and Truman student Kavan Weiss said.
Weiss also shared a poem Cunningham had written a few days before he passed.
The poem entitled, “The Life and Times of Connor J. Cunningham,” described how the 19-year-old wanted to live his life. It reads:
“I want to be a positive role model, not only for my siblings but for future generations to come,” he wrote. “Whenever my siblings are having a bad day, I can always fix it. I want to help as many as I can to fix their bad days.”
Read more: http://www.kirksvilledailyexpress.com/article/20141030/News/141039944#ixzz3IbwFWzgo