When asked to describe Alexander Rickabaugh, even his closest friends are unable to explain just what it was that made him so unique.
Rickabaugh, a sophomore in the Pratt School of Engineering, passed away Sunday. The medical examiner has not released a cause of death, but foul play is not suspected. Originally from Winston-Salem, N.C., Rickabaugh was a resident of Kilgo Quadrangle's Avalon House and lived in Jarvis Residence Hall as a freshman.
“Quiet and reserved” at some points and “bold and outgoing” at others, sometimes “extremely goofy” and sometimes “extremely serious,” Rickabaugh was known for living his life with a joy and passion that were contagious, said sophomore and close friend Ruby Watts.
"Energy that you just don't get from a lot of people"
“Something that I will remember most about him is [his] love and passion,” said sophomore Chris Jernigan. “He would put 100 percent into anything he had a true passion about.”
In a service held Monday evening, approximately 100 friends and classmates gathered to share their memories of Rickabaugh and his “energy that you just don’t get from a lot of people.” A number of Rickabaugh's high school classmates joined Duke students and administrators in a Kilgo commons room for the event.
A common theme in many of the stories shared was Rickabaugh’s caring attitude toward others. Several students noted that Rickabaugh was always genuinely interested in how other people were doing without expecting anything in return, adding that little conversations with him were often enough to brighten their days. Rickabaugh began taking an EMT class this semester, and those who knew him said he wanted nothing more than to be able to help people.
A bright student, Rickabaugh was also known for his poise in academic settings and his friendly, relaxed confidence when preparing for exams.
“Everything he didn’t understand I would explain to him, and what I didn’t understand he would explain to me,” Watts said. “We would banter back and forth until we reached the 'aha!' moment and were so proud of ourselves.”
The joy he brought
Rickabaugh’s sense of humor was widely appreciated by his classmates. Friends noted that he was not a traditional class clown, but instead used his subtlety and quick wit to make people laugh. At several points during the service, the crowd broke out in laughter as particularly humorous stories were exchanged.
“He was the guy that attentively listened to the conversation and would briefly enter it to drop a hilarious bomb,” said sophomore Timothy Blumberg. “Then [he] would retreat again to listening.”
Many of Rickabaugh’s interests were unconventional, but when he developed a passion for something, it was “infectious,” Watts said. His enthusiasm drew in the people around him—numerous friends recounted joining Rickabaugh in slacklining, raising spiders and catching up on the latest episode of Game of Thrones, some of his most treasured hobbies.
Rickabaugh was particularly interested in slacklining, a tightrope-esque balancing activity. The sight of Rickabaugh balancing on his slackline became a common one for members of Jarvis, and later Avalon, residents. Even on a snowy winter day, Rickabaugh could be counted on to go and balance on his slackline, Jernigan said.
“He decided early on in freshman year to break into slacklining,” Blumberg said. “So he bought a line and then [we] all started training with him. We slacked religiously – several times a week for hours at a time. It really bound us together.”
More recently, Rickabaugh had begun raising six tarantulas, keeping meticulous records of when he fed them each day.
“He could tell you about tarantulas for hours,” Jernigan said. “The passion and enthusiasm that came out of his mouth made hours of talking seem like seconds.”
"There was no one like him"
The students gathered on Monday had different memories of Rickabaugh – some recalled building giant snowmen with him in wintertime, others recalled challenging each other to stay up all night to see the sun rise. Still others said they remembered Rickabaugh through small, memorable conversations. All remembered a funny and compassionate friend who embraced his passions with an “energy that people just don’t really have.”
“It is hard to capture Alexander in a sentence,” Jernigan said. “He was Alex and there was no one like him.”
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