Handling of memorial disappointing

I am Peter Vabulas' first cousin, six years his senior. Our mothers are sisters, and though he lived on Long Island and I grew up in Cambridge, MA, we spent a significant amount of our youth together. His passing took our family by complete surprise on Dec 3. There were no signs of illness, though he was never one to complain much.

I would like to express some disappointment about how the University handled the initial plans for his Memorial Service scheduled for Dec 10. Our family and friends, in the midst of this awful situation, scheduled time off work, made travel and hotel reservations, and rescheduled business trips. In addition, a cardiac expert and her team moved around their extremely busy schedule to accommodate Peter's family, a brave decision on Peter's family's part to try and figure out what happened. Two days prior to the date, we found out Tufts cancelled the event. They mentioned bad weather and exams, and were worried that not many would show up. I am positive that this was merely an oversight, but for a grieving family, who had much on their mind, and with the holidays coming up, I felt it was rather insensitive, like a slap in the face. Even if ten people gathered together, it would have been worth the effort, especially to have closure. I'd like to emphasize that there are no ill feelings, but just something to take note of in the future if an unfortunate event like this occurs on campus again.

I am happy to hear that Tufts will be holding the rescheduled Memorial Service this Thursday and I plan to attend. I was at the four viewings of his wake Dec 13 & 14 and was amazed at how many came to pay their respects, that one person who had yet to realize his full potential, could impact that many people. Friends, students from his elementary and high school, teachers, neighbors, co-workers from Simon & Schuster, Bloomberg co-workers from his father's office, and the list goes on. His mother has set up a scholarship fund in his memory which has been a great success so far, and is merely a testament to how strong a community can be.