Savannah Kapis, a Kent State University student remembered for her kindness and joy, tragically passed away Sunday in a fatal motorcycle accident.

Her friends and family described Kapis as a family-oriented girl. Her aunt, Megan Griffith, said she went home often on the weekends and spent time with her family. She loved shopping, grabbing a coffee, spending time in the hot tub, hanging out with friends and listening to music.

Griffith said she was a busy girl, but made time for her family. She had family dogs, and her dog Gizmo was her best friend.

“She would visit family members a lot, including myself. I have a daughter that’s two years old, and she would babysit her all the time,” said Griffith. “We also had family friends who had twins that are about two years old. She was babysitting them all the time. You could always count on her to be there whenever needed.”

Griffith said Kapis always put others first.

“She was very sweet and very kind,” said Griffith. “I just wrote her obituary, and I think the thing that I stressed the most was that she was just a very kind soul, and it was not something a lot of people had. She was just really pure and truly good-hearted and willing to help anyone that she could.”

Griffith shared a memory of a time they shared.

“It was always like, ‘let’s go get a coffee from Dunkin,’ and it was always some like double caramel, you know, extra foam whipped cream, type deal, and then we would just go shopping,” she said.

Kapis attended Kent State University for Sports Medicine. She was a first-generation student and was planning on graduating one year early. She wanted to continue her education and become a physician assistant.

Kapis was in Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority. In the sorority, she met Emma Daprile, who was Kapis’ big.

“She was just a light. She was always bubbly and always had a smile on her face. Just such a joy to be around,” Daprile said.

Daprile said Kapris was very school-oriented. She also worked at the Starbucks in the Kent State library.

Daprile said they loved to go on late-night car drives together.

“Any late-night car ride was probably one of our favorite things to do, and just blaring music and driving around Kent for hours on end,” Daprile said. “One of the better times I’ve had, and there were always laughs and good memories during those late-night car rides.”

Daprile said Kapis was taken too soon.

“There is a large hole for all of us with her being gone, and it’s something that will be impossible to fill,” Daprile said. “She truly was a light in everybody’s lives, and for the past few days, all I’ve heard it’s just like, ‘wow, I don’t know what I’m going to do without her.’ She was so positive, sweet and kind. I just think that every single person that knew her is truly in sorrow and devastated by her being gone.”

Annalexis Davis is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].