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Profiles of victims in Virginia Tech massacre
Matthew Gwaltney, 24, was on the brink of finishing his graduate degree and was planning to return to his hometown for a new job and to be near his parents.
He was a master’s student in civil and environmental engineering and was attending Virginia Tech on a fellowship, his father, Greg Gwaltney, said from his home in Chester, near Richmond.
“Matt came home Thursday night. He had an interview in Richmond Friday morning, and we got to have dinner with him,” said Linda Gwaltney, his stepmother. “He went back to school Friday after his interview.”
It was the last time they saw their only child.
Gwaltney had been his high school newspaper’s sports editor and was named “Best guy to take home to your parents,” his high school principal, Robert Stansberry, said.
At Virginia Tech, where he also earned his undergraduate degree, his favorite place was Cassell Coliseum, his parents said.
“He went to every women’s and men’s basketball game, and went to every football game,” Linda Gwaltney said. “If there was a football game, we knew he wasn’t coming home that weekend.”
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Caitlin Hammaren, 19, of Westtown, N.Y., was a sophomore majoring in international studies and French, according to officials at her former school district.
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Minisink Valley students and teachers shared their grief Tuesday at a counseling center set up in the school, Latini said.
Vanessa Oravec posted on MSNBC.com that Hammaren was her dorm resident adviser. "She was the nicest person I have ever met," Oravec wrote.
"She would do anything for you at the drop of a hat without any questions. She was always there to help you, or just talk. Late night she would stop in and say hi whenever she could. She was always dedicated to helping her friends and the community."
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AP Jeremy Herbstritt |
Jeremy Herbstritt, 27, of Bellefonte, Pa., loved to chat, so much so that high school classmates voted him "Most Talkative."
A graduate student in engineering, he had two undergraduate degrees from Penn State, one in biochemistry and molecular biology from 2003, and another in civil engineering from 2006.
“Talkie, talkie, talkie, everybody likes to talk,” read the description in the Bellefonte High School yearbook of the 1998 graduate. Below was a picture of Herbstritt, with a sly grin, talking on a pay phone.
He grew up on a small farm just outside the central Pennsylvania borough of Bellefonte, where his father, Michael, raised steers and sheep.
His career goal was to be a civil engineer, and he talked of getting into environmental work after school.
“He liked to work on machinery, take a lot of stuff apart and fixed it,” said the victim’s grandfather Thomas Herbstritt, of St. Marys. “He was a studious kid.”
"He was a wonderful student and person, and will be greatly missed," Amy Sten posted on MSNBC.com, identifying herself as a former teacher of Herbstritt's.
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Rachael Hill, 18, of Richmond, Va., a freshman studying biology. She had graduated from Grove Avenue Christian School.
Hill, an only child, was popular and funny, had a penchant for shoes and was competitive on the volleyball court.
“Rachael was a very bright, articulate, intelligent, beautiful, confident, poised young woman. She had a tremendous future in front of her,” said Clay Fogler, administrator for the Grove Avenue school. “Obviously, the Lord had other plans for her.”
Her father, Guy Hill, said Tuesday the family was too distraught to talk about Hill. “We just need some time here,” he said tearfully.
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NBC News
Emily Jane Hilscher, 19, from Woodville, Va., according to family friend John McCarthy. She was a freshman majoring in animal and poultry sciences. "Emily was a beautiful, talented, sweet kid who had a world of potential," he told MSNBC.com.
April 17: Virginia Tech sophomore David Miller recalls Emily Hilscher, who had been a friend since first grade.
McCarthy said Hilscher lived on the same dorm floor as victim Ryan Clark.
Hilscher was also known for her love of animals. "She worked at a veterinarian's office and cared about them her whole life," said McCarthy.
A friend, Will Nachless, 19, said Hilscher "was always very friendly. Before I even knew her I thought she was very outgoing, friendly and helpful, and she was great in chemistry."
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Jarrett Lane, 22, from Narrows, Va., a senior majoring in civil engineering who was valedictorian of his high school class.
His high school put up a memorial to Lane that included pictures, musical instruments and his athletic jerseys.
Lane played the trombone, ran track, and played football and basketball at Narrows High School. “We’re just kind of binding together as a family,” Principal Robert Stump said.
Lane’s brother-in-law Daniel Farrell called Lane fun-loving and “full of spirit.”
“He had a caring heart and was a friend to everyone he met,” Farrell said. “We are leaning on God’s grace in these trying hours.”
In a posting on MSNBC.com, Jessica Green wrote that "the small but very close community of Narrows, VA lost a dear friend and an amazing guy. Jarrett Lane was a very humble and down-to-earth guy and there couldn't have been any sweeter person to have a conversation with. Our small town is feeling the effects of this heinous crime that took place just 20 minutes away."
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Matthew La Porte, 20, from Dumont, N.J., a sophomore attending Virginia Tech on an Air Force ROTC scholarship. He also belonged to the school’s Corps of Cadets and was considering majoring in political science
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Liz Fonseca
Matthew La Porte |
"Matthew was an exemplary student at Carson Long whose love of music and fellow cadets were an inspiration to all on campus," Carson Long said in a statement.
La Porte graduated third in his high school class and was also drum major for the school's drum and bugle corps during his senior year.
"Matthew was one of those elite cadets who went above and beyond the call of duty during his tenure as a cadet in Air Force ROTC at Virginia Tech," an anonymous poster wrote to MSNBC.com. "His memory too, will remain in my heart forever.
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AFP - Getty Images Henry Lee |
Henry Lee, 20, of Roanoke, Va., a freshman also known as Henh Ly. He was the ninth of 10 siblings whose family fled to the United States from Vietnam, arriving in Roanoke in 1994.
Friends described the computer engineering major as a serious student who wasn’t necessarily a serious person.
A Virginia Tech classmate who lived in Lee’s hall, Nathan Spady, described Lee as “an extremely bubbly guy, always ready to go.”
"I knew Henh for five brief years but each moment that I had the privilege of spending with him will remain in my heart forever," Samantha Smith of Roanoke wrote in to MSNBC.com. "He was a brilliant student in the International Baccalaureatte program at William Fleming High School, a member of the French National Honor Society, a member of the BETA Club, a son, a brother, a friend, and so many other things to me and the people who knew him."
"Last spring he asked us all to go to Applebee's with him so that we could celebrate him gaining his citizenship," she added. "I look back on our Senior Awards Ceremony. "Henh kept receiving so many awards that they told him to just sit on stage. He laughed, embarrassed that they would even suggest such a thing. At our graduation, when he spoke for his Saludatorian speech he said, 'If I can do it, everyone can do it.'
"When I think of Henh I think of his smile," Smith wrote. "I hope that his smile will live on within the hearts of all those who knew him. He was amazing. He was Henh."
Friends continued to post hundreds of messages and remembrances on Lee’s Facebook.com page since he was shot to death, knowing he would never get to view them.
“Remember how you used to freak out when I hugged you all the time?” one read. “I’m not so sorry for that anymore.”
William Fleming High School planned a memorial service for Lee on Sunday. Lee was the school’s salutatorian in 2006, and brought many in the audience to tears with his story about his family’s journey to America, principal Susan Lawyer Willis said.
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Liviu Librescu, 76, an engineering science and mechanics lecturer. Born in Romania, he survived the Nazi Holocaust and emigrated to Israel in 1978 before moving to Virginia in 1985.
An Israeli citizen, he had taught at Virginia Tech for 20 years and was internationally known for his work in aeronautical engineering.
"His research has enabled better aircraft, superior composite materials, and more robust aerospace structures," said Ishwar Puri, the head of the engineering science and mechanics department.
After surviving the Nazi killings, Librescu escaped from communist Romania and made his way to the United States before he was killed in Monday’s massacre, which coincided with Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Librescu's son, Joe, said his father's students sent e-mails detailing how the professor saved their lives by blocking the doorway of his classroom from the approaching gunman before he was fatally shot.
“My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee,” Joe Librescu said from his home outside Tel Aviv, Israel. “Students started opening windows and jumping out.”
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Virginia Tech G.V. Loganathan |
"We all feel like we have had an electric shock, we do not know what to do," his brother G.V. Palanivel told the NDTV news channel in India. "He has been a driving force for all of us, the guiding force."
Loganathan, who was born in the southern Indian city of Chennai, had been at Virginia Tech since 1982.
Married with two daughters, he won several awards, including the university's prestigious Wine Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Loganathan had served on the faculty senate and was an adviser to about 75 undergraduate students.
"Dr. G.V. Loganathan was my favorite professor and was my graduate advisor when I was a civil engineering student at Virginia Tech in the late 80's and early 90's," Glenda La Rue said in a posting on MSNBC.com. "Dr. Loganathan was an excellent teacher and mentor ... I will always remember him for his kind heart and patience he displayed towards me and his other students. He truly had a passion for teaching and getting to know his advisees. He was a primary reason that I chose to pursue a career in the engineering specialty of water resources and I credit much of my success to him. He will be missed greatly."
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AP Partahi Lombantoruan |
Partahi Lombantoruan, 34, of Indonesia, was a civil engineering doctoral student. He had been studying at Virginia Tech for three years, said his father, Tohom Lumbantoruan.
Lumbantoruan’s family said they sold off property and cars to pay his tuition and that his goal was to become a teacher in the United States.
“We tried everything to completely finance his studies in the United States,” said his father. “We only wanted him to succeed in his studies, but ... he met a tragic fate.”
His stepmother, Sugiyarti, said he had called almost daily to talk to the family. In their last conversation he had asked for the latest news on Indonesian politics.
“Why can people bring guns to campus?” she asked, weeping. “How is it possible that so many innocent people could be killed? How could it happen?”
An aunt, Christina Panjaitan, said her nephew was hardworking, intelligent and never complained. “He told me he wanted to teach in America,” she said.
Family members were planning a public burial in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
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Myspace.com Lauren McCain |
On her MySpace page, McCain listed “the love of my life” as Jesus Christ.
Her family said McCain became a Christian some time ago.
“Her life since that time has been filled with His love that continued to overflow to touch everyone who knew her,” the family said in a statement.
Her uncle Jeff Elliott told The Oklahoman newspaper that she was an avid reader, was learning German and had almost mastered Latin. She had been home-schooled, he said, and had worked at a department store for about a year to save money for college.
She spent several years of her childhood in Oklahoma, but her father’s Navy career also took the family to Florida, Texas and then to Virginia.
"Lauren had such a sweet innocent heart," Jeanne Meadows, who attended church with McCain, wrote to MSNBC.com. "I can bet you at the last moment of her life she was most likely praying for the gunman and forgiving him."
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Daniel O'Neil, 22, of Lincoln, R.I., was a graduate student in environmental engineering. He also played guitar and wrote his own songs, which he posted on a Web site, www.residenthippy.com.
Friend Steve Craveiro described him as smart, responsible and a hard worker, someone who never got into trouble.
“He would come home from school over the summer and talk about projects, about building bridges and stuff like that,” Craveiro said. “He loved his family. He was pretty much destined to be extremely successful. He just didn’t deserve to have happen what happened.”
O’Neil graduated in 2002 from Lincoln High School and graduated from Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., before heading to Virginia Tech, where he was also a teaching assistant, Craveiro said.
A Lafayette publication said that while there O’Neil was vice president of the Arts Society. His high school yearbook noted he was on the cross country and outdoor track teams, the drama club and the National Honor Society, according to the Providence Journal.
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Juan Ortiz, 26, a graduate student in civil engineering from Puerto Rico, was killed while teaching a class, his father said. 
Ortiz graduated magna cum laude from the Polytechnic University of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and arrived at Virginia Tech last August. He was married to a fellow student pursuing a teaching career, and they had planned to have a child soon.
"He was an extraordinary son," his father, Juan Ramon, said. "On his wedding day, I told him ... what I felt in my heart, I thanked him for being my son, it was special."
Ortiz was also in a band with his father and other relatives. "He loved salsa dancing," his father said.
The family’s neighbors remembered Ortiz as a quiet, dedicated son who decorated his parents’ one-story concrete house each Christmas.
Marilys Alvarez, 22, heard Ortiz’s mother scream from the house next door when she learned of her son’s death. Alvarez said she had wanted to study in the United States, but was now reconsidering. “Here the violence is bad, but you don’t see that,” she said. “It’s really sad. You can’t go anywhere now.”
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Minal Panchal, 26, a first-year building science student from Mumbai, India.
She wanted to be an architect like her father, who died four years ago.
Panchal was very keen to go to the United States for postgraduate studies and thrilled when she gained admission last year, said Chetna Parekh, a friend who lives in the bustling middle-class Mumbai neighborhood of Borivali, where Panchal lived before coming to Virginia Tech.
“She was a brilliant student and very hardworking. She was focused on getting her degree and doing well.”
Panchal was worried about her mother, Hansa, living alone and wanted her to come to the U.S., neighbor Jayshree Ajmane said. Hansa left earlier this month for New Jersey, where her sister and brother-in-law live.
Ajmane called Panchal a bright, polite girl who would help the neighborhood children with their schoolwork.
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Erin Peterson, 18, graduated in 2006 from Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., along with a second victim, Reema Samatha. That is the same high school that the gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, graduated from three years earlier. 
It was not known if Cho knew the victims.
Peterson was 6-foot-1 and played center for the high school’s girls basketball team, helping lead it to a district championship.
“She could do a layup on anyone,” said Anna Richter, a high school teammate.
She recalled how Peterson’s parents attended nearly every game and were among the most enthusiastic fans.
Pat Deegan, Peterson’s high school coach, said he couldn’t remember a better leader.
“She was just a super child,” William Lloyd, Erin’s godfather, told the Washington City Paper.
“Her and her dad, man, you couldn’t separate them. He lost a child from cancer — a daughter, 8 years old. A week later, (Erin) was born.”
Lloyd said that Erin and her father, Grafton Peterson, did part ways on one thing: pro football allegiances. “She was a Redskin,” he said. “He was a Cowboy.”
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NBC News
Michael Pohle, 23, of Flemington, N.J., was expected to graduate in a few weeks with a degree in biological sciences, said Craig Blanton, Hunterdon Central’s vice principal during the 2002 school year, when Pohle graduated.
April 17: Virginia Tech student Michael Pohle, 23, was killed in Monday's shooting rampage. His lacrosse teammate, Sean Simmons, reflects on Pohle's life.
“He had a bunch of job interviews and was all set to start his post-college life,” Blanton told The Star-Ledger of Newark.
At the high school, Pohle played on the football and lacrosse teams.
One of his old lacrosse coaches, Bob Shroeder, described him as “a good kid who did everything that good kids do.”
“He tried to please,” Shroeder told the newspaper. “He was just a great kid.”
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Julia Pryde, 23, was a graduate student from Middletown, N.J.
She was an “exceptional student academically and personally,” said Saied Mostaghimi, chairman of the biological systems and engineering department where Pryde was seeking her master’s degree.
“She was the nicest person you ever met,” Mostaghimi told The Star-Ledger of Newark.
Last summer, Pryde had traveled to Ecuador to research water quality issues with a professor. She planned to return this summer for follow-up work, Mostaghimi said.
A 2001 graduate of Middletown North High School, Pryde was on the school’s swim team and played softball in two town leagues.
Her hometown has been touched by tragedy before, losing 37 current and former residents in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“The town pulls together in these situations. Everything that we can do for this family, we’ll see what can be done,” Middletown Mayor Gerard P. Scharfenberger said.
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