"You always knew Dave was coming down the hallway because he was whistling," Lou MacNeill of Facilities Management said as he read aloud a collective list of fond memories at David D'Angelo's memorial service on Monday.
MacNeill, who worked for D'Angelo in the Facilities Carpentry Shop, spoke of the admiration and respect felt for D'Angelo by all members of the Bowdoin community as he gave the service's final remarks.
"There was no status with Dave," he said, smiling. "He treated everyone with the exact amount of respect."
D'Angelo was killed on Saturday, October 23 when his motorcycle swerved into oncoming traffic on Route 128 and collided with a pick-up truck The 46-year-old D'Angelo was on the way home from a morning meeting at the College. He died on impact.
The Bowdoin Chapel was filled to capacity for the memorial service. Family, friends, faculty, staff, students, and members of the Brunswick community came to share memories of D'Angelo's enthusiasm, drive, and positive outlook on even the most hopeless of situations.
"Each of us at Bowdoin is caring and understanding," said President Barry Mills, "until something we need isn't cleaned on time. Dave never tried to minimize a problem or make it disappear. He was on it."
This strong work-ethic and sense of dedication exemplified by D'Angelo was reiterated and praised by every subsequent speaker.
"This guy exerted more enthusiasm in a week than most in a lifetime," said Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration & Treasurer Catherine Longley. "Dave's boundless enthusiasm, skill, and dedication to his work will leave a lasting impression on campus."
As Director of Facilities, D'Angelo's "lasting impression on campus" is apparent in building and landscaping design at Bowdoin. Senior Vice President for Planning and Administration Bill Torrey William A. Torrey noted that D'Angelo's efforts went into the restoration of Searles, Pickard, Wish, Stowe, Howard, Quinby, MacMillian, Ladd, Thorne, and Chamberlain, among others.
D'Angelo's most recent accomplishments on campus included the restoration of the Chapel and the construction of Kanbar Hall, which he helped to dedicate the night before his death.
As guests arrived for the dedication ceremony, recalled Trustee Peter M. Small '64, D'Angelo was holding the door open and "smiling like he owned the place."
Many speakers said D'Angelo was renowned for his smile. He especially found pleasure in praising his staff, and he started every conversation with a success story about someone in his department, Torrey said.
"He's not a person who used the word 'I' a lot. He used 'we'," said Torrey. "Dave treasured human possibility to the nth degree."
Director of Athletics Jeff Ward agreed.
"In his job, he was much more likely to hear complaints than praise, but he always found time to praise others," he said. "Dave had high expectations, but he was always positive."
While each speaker at the memorial service praised D'Angelo for his dedication to his job and his staff, it was his unyielding loyalty to his family that many community membres said they will remember.
D'Angelo, who is survived by his wife Alicia and three children, lined his office with photographs of his family as a testimony to his love for them.
Blythe Edwards, wife of President Emeritus Bob Edwards, remembered a time when D'Angelo cancelled a meeting on a snowy morning so that he could be with his pregnant wife.
"He didn't apologize," recalled Edwards, "and he didn't plan to."
To honor D'Angelo, the College will place a memorial bench on Cleaveland Quad near Kanbar Hall and hang a plaque displaying the Facilities Management Mission Statement, developed by D'Angelo and a team of co-workers, in Rhodes Hall.
Even without such memorials, the speakers said it is unlikely that the Bowdoin community will forget the impact D'Angelo had on the College.
"His standards of decency, kindness, and quality will stand here as long as his colleagues choose to honor them," President Emeritus Edwards said.