The Whitman community suffered a great loss Saturday night when senior Tommy Buarque De Macedo passed away after a car accident that also killed both of his parents and left his sister, sophomore Helena Buarque De Macedo, in critical condition. In the wake of this tragedy, over the past few days students and teachers who knew Tommy have shared their memories of him to honor and celebrate his life.

“He was a really amazing person in that he was very different from everyone else and he knew it, but he embraced it,” senior David Whyman said. “He wasn’t afraid of what other people would think.”

From his crazy socks to his Disney T-shirts, Tommy was always his own person and didn’t conform to others’ views and behaviors. He shared his opinions on everything, and even once went on a 10-minute rant about Canadian bacon just to start a conversation, junior Michael Azimi said.

“We all want to say that we don’t take ourselves too seriously, but it’s really hard to do and Tommy was really successful at being true to himself and having that perspective to not take life too seriously,” English teacher Danielle Fus said. “He knew what he loved and those were the things that he wanted to spend his time doing.”

At a vigil held to honor the family Sunday, several of Tommy’s friends spoke to a crowd of hundreds about Tommy’s enthusiasm.

“He would just strike up a conversation; he didn’t care if you knew him well or not; he would just talk to you about his passions and then that would get you passionate about the things he cared about,” Azimi said.

He loved to argue, math teacher Michelle Holloway said, and participated in the Congress event for the debate team. Others who knew Tommy also emphasized how genuinely smart and knowledgeable he was.

He was accepted to Georgia Tech and very excited about the school, although he was waiting to hear back from other colleges before committing to attend, junior Natalie Cohn said.

“Tommy was rough on the outside and soft on the inside, and to get to the softness you just had to understand that he was really, really bright,” Holloway said. “He was creative, impulsive, super intelligent, always had a plan, loved to solve problems. If there wasn’t a problem, he would make one so he could solve it. He loved when his method didn’t work and he had to try again and he really, truly never gave up.”

In addition to Tommy’s intellect, Holloway described his persistence, kindness and loyalty, as well as his unfailing willingness to help with everything from fixing a broken shelf to setting something up on the computer.

The energy and personality he brought wherever he went are among the qualities that Tommy will be most remembered for by the Whitman community.

“He always had a smile,” Fus said. “He always had a story, he always had some kind of plan for what was going to happen and he was always optimistic about it.”

Funeral services for Tommy and his parents will be held Thursday, March 3 at 11:00 at Catholic University’s St. Vincent Chapel.