birkner
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A Friend, a ‘Good Listener’ and a Victim
By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ
Published: April 17, 2007
BLACKSBURG, Va., April 16 — Ryan Clark was known as Stack here on the rolling campus of Virginia Tech, an amiable senior memorable for his ready smile and thoughtful ways.
He was studying biology and English and had hoped to pursue a doctorate in psychology, with a focus on cognitive neuroscience.
He was among the first victims of the deadliest school shooting rampage in the nation’s history. Neither Virginia Tech nor the police here have identified the victims. But students and the coroner in Mr. Clark’s home county in Georgia confirmed his identity.
A student resident adviser at the West Ambler Johnston Hall dormitory, Mr. Clark was apparently rushing over to investigate what was going on when he came upon the gunman, said a student who lives on the fourth floor, where the first shootings took place.
Tall and thin, Mr. Clark, of Augusta, Ga., was well-liked and a member of the university’s marching band, the Marching Virginians, students in the dormitory said. The band’s Web site has an image of him participating in a food drive and says he enjoyed, among other things, “making t-shirts with his partner in crime, Kim Daniloski, and haggling with street vendors.”
Courtney Dalton, who met Mr. Clark two years ago when they worked together at a campus restaurant, described him as helpful and a good listener. “When I was upset about something, he would come over and ask, ‘Are you O.K.,’ ” she said. “If you ever needed to talk about your problems, he’d listen.”
Ms. Dalton said he stopped working at the restaurant shortly after they met but continued to stop by and visit. “I used to talk to him every day,” she said.
Ms. Dalton said she was stunned by his death. “It’s horrible,” she said. “It’s hitting us all pretty hard.”
It fell to Vernon W. Collins, the coroner of Columbia County, Ga., to tell Mr. Clark’s mother about his death.
“She was in shock,” Mr. Collins said. “It started out in disbelief. She was praying what I was telling her was wrong, and I felt the same way. I wished I didn’t have to tell her that.
“It was horrible, you know, to walk up to somebody you don’t know and tell them they’ve lost a loved one. It’s the hardest part of my job.”
Mr. Collins also had to break the news to Mr. Clark’s twin brother, Bryan. “I explained as best I could what limited information I had,” he said.
“There’s no way you can sugarcoat that somebody has died a tragic death,” Mr. Collins said. “They knew, when they saw us there. I could hear the TV in the background talking about the incident. They knew. For what other purpose would we be showing up?”
By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ
Published: April 17, 2007
BLACKSBURG, Va., April 16 — Ryan Clark was known as Stack here on the rolling campus of Virginia Tech, an amiable senior memorable for his ready smile and thoughtful ways.
He was studying biology and English and had hoped to pursue a doctorate in psychology, with a focus on cognitive neuroscience.
He was among the first victims of the deadliest school shooting rampage in the nation’s history. Neither Virginia Tech nor the police here have identified the victims. But students and the coroner in Mr. Clark’s home county in Georgia confirmed his identity.
A student resident adviser at the West Ambler Johnston Hall dormitory, Mr. Clark was apparently rushing over to investigate what was going on when he came upon the gunman, said a student who lives on the fourth floor, where the first shootings took place.
Tall and thin, Mr. Clark, of Augusta, Ga., was well-liked and a member of the university’s marching band, the Marching Virginians, students in the dormitory said. The band’s Web site has an image of him participating in a food drive and says he enjoyed, among other things, “making t-shirts with his partner in crime, Kim Daniloski, and haggling with street vendors.”
Courtney Dalton, who met Mr. Clark two years ago when they worked together at a campus restaurant, described him as helpful and a good listener. “When I was upset about something, he would come over and ask, ‘Are you O.K.,’ ” she said. “If you ever needed to talk about your problems, he’d listen.”
Ms. Dalton said he stopped working at the restaurant shortly after they met but continued to stop by and visit. “I used to talk to him every day,” she said.
Ms. Dalton said she was stunned by his death. “It’s horrible,” she said. “It’s hitting us all pretty hard.”
It fell to Vernon W. Collins, the coroner of Columbia County, Ga., to tell Mr. Clark’s mother about his death.
“She was in shock,” Mr. Collins said. “It started out in disbelief. She was praying what I was telling her was wrong, and I felt the same way. I wished I didn’t have to tell her that.
“It was horrible, you know, to walk up to somebody you don’t know and tell them they’ve lost a loved one. It’s the hardest part of my job.”
Mr. Collins also had to break the news to Mr. Clark’s twin brother, Bryan. “I explained as best I could what limited information I had,” he said.
“There’s no way you can sugarcoat that somebody has died a tragic death,” Mr. Collins said. “They knew, when they saw us there. I could hear the TV in the background talking about the incident. They knew. For what other purpose would we be showing up?”
So we decided to leave. We dropped off my parents and their RV, picked up our car and headed for the emergency room. They gave some percuset (sp?) and took some xrays. Turns out it is a severe sprain on both sides of my ankle. No break or fracture they could see. Doctor ordered me completely off of it for a week. They gave me an ace bandage, a boot, crutches, and a note for my boss. I'm sure he will be very pleased when he reads my email that I will be working from home all of next week. So, that's my sad, sad story. Enough rambling. 
It was held at my SIL's and was a surprise. We all told her it was a wedding shower for my DD (it actually WAS supposed to be a shared birthday/shower day but someone else had already planned a shower that night for my DD so we just stuck to the birthday) . My MIL took her gift for my DD over to my SIL's a week in advance and kept telling everyone all about the shower LOL. So she was expecting all of the out of town relatives and friends. etc but what a surprise for her when she walked in and we all yelled "Happy Birthday" 
