Friends, professors remember Brant Blaha

Memories of University of South Dakota student Brant Blaha were shared by family and friends who gathered Sunday evening for a memorial service in the Muenster University Center.

Blaha, a 19-year-old sophomore from Dante, S.
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D., drowned in the Missouri River on Aug. 16 while on a swimming trip with friends at Burbank Beach.

Kristi Schmidt, a friend of Blaha who was swimming with him the day he died, thanked the crowd for attending and related a few stories about him.

“He was a child at heart (who was) gentle and kind to everyone, while somehow still being honest,” she said.

Schmidt added Blaha touched the lives of many people, joked a lot and made people smile.

“God dang it Brant, I’m going to miss you,” she said.

Another friend of Blaha’s, Hanna Leschisin, said she and others were thankful for the time they had with Blaha, and said it will be “impossible to forget him.”

Sophomore Angie Fairrier, who lived on the same floor in Beede Hall as Blaha last year, said everyone who lived on the floor will “remember him forever.”

“I felt like I was one of his best friends,” she said. “He made everyone feel so special.”

Students weren’t the only ones to share memories of the Honors Program student. Professors also spoke about Blaha’s work ethic in the classroom.

“(He) was a wonderful person, full of life and very intelligent,” said philosophy professor Leroy Meyer.

History professor Sara Lampert told those at the gathering she’ll remember Blaha’s big smile and his willingness to participate in lecture discussions.

“Students don’t always realize how much they affect their professors,” Lampert said.

Debra Brockburg, a coordinator at the Student Counseling Center on campus, said counselors at the Student Counseling Center are available for students and faculty to use saying “your loss is our loss.” Local religious leaders are also available.

After the speakers finished, a slideshow of Blaha’s life was shown, featuring candids and snapshots of a smiling Blaha in silly clothing, costumes and poses with his friends. Blaha’s father, Frank Blaha, then took the podium and thanked everyone who came to the service and shared memories of his son.

Later on in the evening the group made its way down to Burbank Beach, the same area where Blaha drowned, to release floating laterns in his memory.

(Photo: Sophomores Ben Bemus, left, Gabby Metzger, center, and Tyler Wilson, right, comfort each other during a memorial service for Brant Blaha on Sunday evening. Blaha, 19, drowned in the Missouri River while on a swimming trip with friends at Burbank Beach on Aug. 16. Malachi Petersen / The Volante)