Jacob was a classmate in the Writing Division and a dear friend. I loved his wry comments in class, his astute observations, his impersonations of our professors. I was inspired by his love of language; being friends with Jacob meant I had to keep a dictionary open on my desk to be able to decode his emails. ( He was the only person I knew to use Latin abbreviations in electronic correspondence. ) Most importantly, I trusted him as a reader and respected him as a writer.

The last time we had dinner together, we saw someone knock over a trashcan and spill garbage all over the street. Jacob wordlessly righted the trashcan and picked up the mess.

Like everyone else, I was impressed by Jacob's intelligence and charisma, but I will especially remember his kindness.

I'm only sorry we didn't have more of him.

Kelly Nuxoll