A group of friends stand around the rock on front campus with paint in hand to honor the life of Brian Clark. The words “you will be missed” are painted in bright yellow and surround the white rock, proclaiming their loss.

Clark passed away Wednesday at the Cleveland Clinic. Clark’s roommate, Robert Lewis, said Clark first started getting sick in July and was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.

Lewis said Clark was in and out of urgent care and ended up getting an infection. Clark was at home since the first week of classes after complaining of chest pain. He was transferred to the Cleveland Clinic, but Lewis said they haven’t yet heard exactly what caused his passing.

Clark, a senior computer information science major from Mentor, Ohio, was known for his vibrant and easy-going personality.

“Brian was really alive. I know it sounds odd to say now, but when he was here he was always so energetic, always quick with a laugh and always smiling,” Kayleigh Gilkison, a junior French translation major said. “His roommate is my boyfriend and I’d always be over at his apartment. A few times, when we would hang out, we would watch some stupid movies and spend the next week quoting it.”

Described as a giant teddy bear by his friends, Clark had a penchant for making his friends laugh.

“Brian could always put a smile on my face and he was always was able to make me laugh,” Marisol Lazo-Flores, a senior political science major said. “He was the go-to guy when you needed a laugh and he could always crack a joke to make you smile.”

Clark, an employee of the campus TechSpot, was described as a fan of video games and always up for anything.

“Living with him, we would always end up staying up really late, not really doing anything specific, just goofing around. He was a very easy-going person and was always up for random things,” Lewis, a senior business management major said. “He always had something funny to say or knew something cool to check out. I have lots of memory of him.”

Clark’s friends considered him a friend to all.

“We lost someone who had so much potential and who always wanted to see the world become a better place,” Gilkison said. “Brian was a friend to the entire world.”

Funeral services were held Sunday.

“Brian was a person who, no matter how many people there were on campus or what we were going through, always had a way of sneaking into your heart and brightening your day,” Lazo-Flores said. “When things were tough for him he always smiled and that’s what we’re going to do for him.”

Contact Alice Dunaway at [email protected].