A porter at St Catherine’s college died suddenly on Monday night. 23 year old David Lord’s death came as a surprise to staff and students. Further details of his death have not yet been released.
An email was sent to the college by the Master of St Catherine’s informing the students of Lord’s death. Professor Roger Ainsworth wrote, “I am very sorry to have to tell you that David Lord, a Lodge Porter, passed away last night. Details are sparse at the moment but I wanted to let you know as soon as possible because I know that a good many of you will have known David very well in his role as a Lodge Porter.”
Ainsworth described Lord as “always friendly, helpful and enthusiastic”, and added “he will be greatly missed”.
Benson Egwuonwu, JCR President, has organised a ‘JCR Extraordinary Meeting’ that will be held this Sunday evening to commemorate David Lord’s death, who he described in an email to students as “a truly good guy [who] will be greatly missed by many people here.”
He also stated, “In times like these, words may seem inadequate, but I think it’s the least we can do to pay our respects.” The JCR has also resolved to set aside £100 for a wreath for David Lord’s funeral and to support the creation of a memorial at the college in his honor.
Gareth Morgan, a 3rd year biochemist, spoke to Cherwell about David Lord. He said, “Dave was a very, very nice guy, very sharp and extremely intelligent. I don’t know his academic background but he was well-read in anything you would want to talk about. He was always cheery and always willing to help.”
He continued, saying that Lord was “really selfless”. He described the mood amongst the students as “rather downbeat”.
Camilla Turner, a third year History student at Catz added, “It was such a shock to hear about his sudden death, as many students had seen him around at Catz this week. My friend had a bike crash just a few days earlier and Dave had helped make sure she was okay on her way back to college.” She believes the JCR meeting will be “packed out with students wishing to show their respect for Dave.”
Lord was well known amongst the students outside a professional capacity. Morgan adds, “One time I was in Wahoo and it was a heavy metal night… I went upstairs and suddenly he’s bounding up to me, giving me a hug and asking me how I’m doing.” Students also described his distinctive goatee and ponytail.
The porters at St Catherine told Cherwell that he would be sadly missed. One porter commented, “There have been plenty of bouquets left here in the Lodge. We all knew and liked him – he was a valued colleague and will obviously be very sadly missed.”
James Bennett, Home Bursar at St Catherine’s told Cherwell, “David’s death came as great shock to us all at St Catherine’s. He was a much-loved and well-respected colleague and friend to many here. He will be very much missed by us all.”
The college offered their deep condolences to Mr Lord’s family and the Master has personally requested that the flag must be flown at half-mast until his funeral.
