A eulogy for a dear friend

This past summer, Austin Ricketts, a beloved member of the Templeton Honors College faculty, passed away. As we mourn the loss of a good man, we also rejoice in the blessing that it was to know him. With hearts still heavy with grief, we cling to our blessed hope, looking forward to the day when we will meet again in glory. 

“My relationship with Austin started my sophomore year, when I was helping Keilah, who was the current Undergraduate Recruitment Intern–which is my position now–helping her clean up from the senior presentations. Austin and I sat next to each other in the back of Keilah’s RAV4, and we didn’t know each other, but there were four of us shoved in the back of the three seat row. So, our relationship started very close. But I know him, actually, through being an intern for the Honors College” Andrew Destefano said. 

Annika Pickard, another Templeton student, also worked closely with Austin during his time at Eastern. “Austin’s gentle and good-natured demeanor made him very easy to talk to. Andrew Destefano and I would spend hours working hard (or maybe hardly working) with Austin – picking his brain about theological topics, celebrating our achievements, sharing stories, brainstorming future goals, declaring our doubts, and instilling hope in one another. Our constant laughter chased away any stress and anxiety that might be lurking in Fowler Hall – or in us” she said. Her thoughts echo sentiments shared by so many who knew Austin. He was a calming, peaceful presence in all the spaces he entered. 

Dr. Williams, Dean of the Templeton Honors College, also shared his own reflection on Austin’s life. “‘Still waters run deep.’ That was more true of Austin than perhaps anyone I have ever known. And after hearing the testimony of his friends and family at the funeral, I realized his waters ran even deeper than I knew. Austin had sunk his soul deep into the unfathomable mystery of God’s love and deep into the Church’s long conversation about God, and sometimes those waters welled up and overflowed to nourish the people around him,” Dr. Williams said. 

Annika shared one of the many lessons Austin taught her. “In all our reflections on Austin’s life, there is this common appreciation for the peace and calm that he exhibited. There are many more things that we can all do to honor Austin. For one, we can learn to live peacefully, resting in the hope of Christ. “If the Good is sure to win, what do we have to fear?” Pickard said. 

“To honor him and his place within the community life of the Templeton Honors College, we plan to dedicate a space in Templeton Hall as the Austin Ricketts Reading Room in which current and future students might follow Austin’s example and sink the wells of their own souls deep into the mysteries of God and His good creation,” Dr. Williams said. Another way to honor Austin is to continue to pray for his beautiful family: his wife Catherine, and their two sons, Torrecmce, Oliver and their daughter Evangeline, born just two weeks prior to Austin’s passing. 

At Austin’s funeral, Catherine shared a poem that was dear to Austin’s heart. This seems like an appropriate way to end our brief eulogy to this faithful friend, brother, son, beloved husband and father. Walt Whitman writes in his poem, ‘The Song of the Universal,’ “Give me, O God, to sing that thought! / Give me—give him or her I love this quenchless faith, In Thy ensemble—whatever else withheld, withhold not from us, / Belief in plan of Thee enclosed in time and space, / Health, peace, salvation universal. / Is it a dream? / Nay, but the lack of it the dream. / And, failing it, life’s lore and wealth a dream, / And all the world a dream.” 

We are thankful for every cherished memory we have of Austin and we continue to keep his family in our prayers, hoping to be reunited once again when Christ returns.