Torin Tucker ’15 died Saturday, February 1, while competing for Dartmouth in a cross country skiing event in Craftsbury, Vt.
After the college informed Tucker’s family and expressed its deepest sympathy and support, President Phil Hanlon ’77 shared the tragic news with the College community in a campus-wide email.
“We have been in contact with (Torin’s) family and share our deepest sympathies with them at this time of heartbreaking loss. Gail’s and my thoughts are with Torin’s family, friends, and the entire Dartmouth community at this time of such a tragic loss,” Hanlon wrote, mentioning his wife, Gail Gentes.
The Dartmouth flag on the Green will fly at half-staff on Monday and Tuesday to honor the memory of Tucker.
Tucker came to Dartmouth from Sun Valley, Idaho, where he was a graduate of the Community School. At Dartmouth, he was a member of the Chi Heorot fraternity.
Tucker’s death was widely reported in the media over the weekend. In a story in the Sunday Valley News, cross country skiing teammate Carly Wynn ’15 remembered Tucker as a kind, friendly man.
“He smiled just all the time,” she told the paper. “He always asked me how I was doing. He always seemed like he cared what was going on with other people. … He wanted to be happy and he wanted other people to be happy.”
The College offered counseling to members of the ski team and the entire community on Saturday and Sunday. In addition, community members were urged to seek help from a counselor or chaplain, on their own behalf or out of concern for others, by contacting Safety and Security at (603) 646-4000 at any time.
”Please do not hesitate to seek help during this time of grief,“ Hanlon’s note to the community said. (Read the full text of Hanlon’s note to the community.)
Athletic Director Harry Sheehy also expressed his condolences.
“The thoughts of Dartmouth Athletics are with Torin’s family, friends, and the entire Dartmouth community,” said Sheehy on Saturday.
The cross country ski team members who were racing with Tucker in the TD Bank Craftsbury Marathon returned to campus on Saturday night. The rest of the team was in Stowe, Vt., competing at the Vermont Carnival, with events scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. They returned Saturday night as well, and did not compete in the rest of the weekend’s events.