Royal Purple

Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Alison Wisneski The campus flag was lowered to half mast in honor of senior Andrew Ullrich yesterday.

Gamache [Click to enlarge]

Ullrich [Click to enlarge]

UW-Whitewater lost two students in unrelated incidents within two weeks of each other. Sophomore Jesse Gamache died on Jan. 9 and senior Andrew Ullrich died last Wednesday.

Gamache drowned after he hit a deer with his car and was ejected into a water-filled ditch, Kelly McAndrews, the Washington County medical examiner, said.

Ullrich was found in an off-campus apartment by a friend last Wednesday. The cause of death is undetermined, but an autopsy report revealed no signs of physical injury or medical cause of death, according to a Whitewater Police Department news release.

Paula Mohan, a political science lecturer, knew both of the students. She had Gamache in ethnic politics.

"[Jesse] was one of those students who really had it all together," she said. "He never missed. He was always really alert and interested. He did great work, and he had this great smile that never left his face, even on Friday mornings."

Mohan is the faculty adviser for Ullrich's fraternity, the currently suspended Lambda Chi Alpha.

"There are a number of people who are just in shock about the suddenness of [Andy's] death," she said. "I spent a lot of time with him over the last two years helping him figure out how he could still express his fraternity values without violating the university sanctions about how suspended fraternities are supposed to act."

Ullrich earned the nickname "Quarters" after he paid $5 in quarters to enter his first LCA, senior Hillary Wheelan, who dated Ullrich for nearly three years, said.

"Andy was a wonderful person to everyone, and no one had ever had a bad word to say about him," Wheelan said. "Never once in our whole relationship did he ever give me any reason to believe he was unfaithful or untrustworthy in any way. Every single day we were in a relationship, I knew I was loved. Andy is loved an missed by many people."

Gamache's roommate at UW-Whitewater, Andy Fassbender, knew Gamache since they were in fourth grade together.

"I don't think any word better describes Jesse other then 'character,'" Fassbender said. "He was one of a kind and someone that you can learn a lot from, even if it was what not to do, but most importantly I learned how to be a good friend."

Due to the amount of memories provided by Gamache's and Ullrich's friends, an additional story can be found in the Web Extras section at www.royalpurplenews.com.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools