When he wasn’t studying for classes, hanging out in his room or playing video games, Jared Weber was spending his time in the pottery classroom.

Day after day he would spend time there. at was place to go when he needed to relax or relieve some stress.

On Friday, April 14, Weber passed away in his Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, home.

Weber, an extremely creative guy according to friends, shaped astonishing works of art in that pottery room. Outside of that classroom, Weber was a fan of making those around him laugh by telling quick jokes or even by sharing some of his favorite internet memes.

Those are the things that people at people on the campus of Waynesburg University will remember most about Weber.

“He was very creative and artistic. He spent hours in that pottery room, day after day,” said his roommate, freshman TJ Denofrio. “That was his space. He really enjoyed that. If he wasn’t in the dorm, he was in the pottery room. And some of the pieces he made were astonishing, I mean really, professional quality. at was his hobby. He loved it.”

Early on, Denofrio knew that he had met someone special in Weber. They worked well as a team and as roommates right from the start. Weber was a conscientious roommate who would often help Denofrio by making sure he stayed on top of his classes and activities. They worked together to combat the heat during the first couple weeks of the fall semester.

“Our first week here our room was really hot and we wanted to and away to x it, so we found an online tutorial on how to build an AC fan,” said Denofrio. “That was one of the first things we did. We went out and bought all the stuff and built it.”

Weber had a knack for making people laugh– especially those who got close to him. For a social experiment in one of his classes, Weber walked around Walmart in a hot dog suit while Denofrio recorded him and the reactions of the other shoppers.

“He made everyone in there smile–that’s who he was,” he said. Freshman Patric Feisel said he and Weber were planning on being roommates during their sophomore years, and Feisel remembered Weber fondly.

“He was always a happy person,” he said. “I would always see him laughing.”

The campus community gathered in Robert’s Chapel on Tuesday at 11 a.m. where time was set aside to remember the life of Weber.

“Jared was loved on this campus,” said the Rev. James Tinnemeyer, university chaplain. “He was a nursing major and a talented artist. Our hearts are heavy and so it is my hope in this time together each one of us feels and experiences God’s great love for all of us and that God would comfort us and that God would bless us.”

Denofrio, was shocked upon hearing the news and now reflects upon the time that he had spent with him.

“If you had the chance to sit down and talk with him, you would instantly understand that he was a great guy,” he said. “He didn’t project himself out, but if someone would take time out to sit and talk with him, they would realize how awesome he was.”

Feisel echoed Denofrio’s statements and said he was always just across the hall for a good conversation.

“When his door was open, he was always there to talk to or listen,” he said.

Assistant Chaplain Josh Sumpter conveyed the tragedy of what happened and how he feels for Weber’s family. With such a small community at Waynesburg, loss is brought much closer to the minds of students.

“My heart aches for this young man’s family and his friends,” he said. “I heard the news this weekend while traveling, I was up near Cleveland, and I had no words. The loss of life, whether a distant acquaintance, a close friend, a classmate, there are no words.”