Hundreds of members of the Whitman community quietly assembled in front of the school Sunday night for a candlelight vigil to mourn the loss of senior Tommy Buarque De Macedo and his parents, Michael and Alessandra, who died in a car accident Saturday, and to pray for his sister, sophomore Helena, who was also seriously injured in the crash. 

Choking back tears as he expressed sorrow and anger, principal Alan Goodwin opened the ceremony with a moment of silence for Tommy and his parents.  He then invited the group to light candles and called for a moment of hope for Helena.

“In certain religions, they use candle smoke as a suggestion that prayers and hopes can rise to the heavens,” Goodwin said.  He pointed to the rising smoke from the collective candles as a symbol of hope for Helena’s recovery.  

Goodwin spoke of Tommy’s bright and engaging manner, his facility for technology and his passion for debate.  He urged others to take on Tommy’s qualities as a way to make something positive come from this tragedy.

“Tommy’s incredible promise must live on in you,” he said.

As candles continued to flicker beneath the starry sky, students and teachers shared stories and fond memories of Tommy and Helena.

“Over the past two years that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Tommy, he was so passionate, he was so funny,” junior and fellow debater Michael Azimi said.

Senior David Whyman, also a debater, took over for Azimi when the latter teared up.

“He was one of the most unique and incredible people I’ve ever met,” Whyman said.  “He always had a joke up his sleeve.  No matter what happened, he always knew how to make me laugh.”

As they listened, mourners quietly sobbed, hugged and rested their heads on each other’s shoulders.  When gentle breezes extinguished a few candles, neighbors turned to each other to rekindle the flames.

Math teacher Michelle Holloway recalled how Tommy often stayed after class to talk with her and tried four times to repair the shelf on her bookcase.

“On the last time, he painted his initials on the side of my bookcase,” she said.  “I’m going to have that now, and every time I look at it, I’ll think of Tommy and his wonderful spirit.”

Senior Raana Norooz recalled meeting Helena in her aerospace engineering class this year.  The first thing she noticed about Helena, she said, was her beautiful eyebrows.  Norooz looks forward to Helena’s recovery so that they can ride together in the 747 Dreamliner Helena always talks about.

Tommy and Helena’s uncle, a Whitman alum, expressed his appreciation to the community for its support and respect for the family’s need for solitude.

Whitman chorus members closed out the ceremony by singing a traditional Irish benediction.

More information about the crash can be found here