By Craig Sanders
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Friends and teammates expressed feelings of grief, frustration and sorrow, as well as inspiration, yesterday at a memorial service for late Arizona football player Damon Terrell.
Several hundred people gathered at McKale Center to hear speakers talk about the life of Terrell and what his death has meant to them. Coaches, teammates, friends, administrators and professors all offered a glimpse into his life and shared their sorrow at his death.
"Damon lived life to the fullest," said Jim Livengood, the University of Arizona's athletic director. "He loved life and he loved his friends. ... We must remember that he is, was, and will always be family. A Wildcat in the very truest sense."
Terrell returned from California in August and was recovering emotionally from the death of his infant son, Brandon Marcel, who died over the summer from medical complications that had kept him in the hospital for almost a year. He returned to Arizona three weeks after his son's death and was planning on dedicating his season to Brandon.
Terrell was slated to be Arizona's starting tight end before collapsing during a conditioning drill on Aug. 10 at Arizona's annual preseason trip to Camp Cochise. He was hospitalized at Tucson Medical Center with a ruptured spleen and irreversible intestinal damage. He seemed on the road to recovery and was listed in fair condition when he passed away a week ago today. At the request of his family, further details of his death were not released. Terrell was a senior.
"I think our players are getting on as best they can," Arizona coach Dick Tomey said in a teleconference on Tuesday. "Everyone deals with a tragedy in different ways. We just want to make sure our kids are communicating their feelings."
Many UA players used the memorial service as a chance to express those feelings. Teammates attested to Terrell's good humor, even in his last days in the hospital. Tomey said that he never let his condition get him down.
"Damon showed so much concern for his friends and his family," the coach said. "He loved his teammates."
Moving moments came when friends and teammates spoke of the Terrell they knew off the football field. They said he always had a smile on his face, made friends wherever he went, would face any challenge he could find, and most importantly, they said that Terrell always was giving to others.
"He was always there when you needed him," Arizona tailback Gary Taylor said. "D.T. made me appreciate life. I'm going to live it to the fullest."
Arizona free safety Shawn Parnell, Terrell's teammate and close friend from his days at El Camino Junior College in Torrance, Calif., delivered a eulogy about how Terrell loved the game of football and how he worked hard to make his way from a baseball player in junior college to the starting tight end at Arizona. He said Terrell worked hard for whatever he wanted, and whatever he wanted, he achieved.
"Damon just wanted to play the game no matter what he had to do," Parnell said. "He celebrated every day like it was his last. When I visited him in the hospital, the look he gave me when I entered the room was one of pure joy. The thing I'm going to carry with me the most is that he was always there for me and I was always there for him. I just want him to know I love him. I miss him."
Keith Graham, pastor of the Southside Church, talked about the inspiration Terrell should give to his friends and family.
"Damon was able to accomplish more in his death than he ever was able to accomplish in his life," Graham said. "He allowed each of you to look into each others' eyes tell the other person 'I love you.'
"His motto was to finish it, and that's what he did. That's what I encourage all of you to do. Not just in football, but in life. Finish it."
Several players seemed overwhelmed by Terrell's death. Most of them broke into tears as they spoke.
"It's like somebody stabbed me in the back," Arizona defensive lineman Joe Salave'a said. Salave'a is coming off the loss of two grandparents as well. "I don't feel anything (is) going for me. Nothing. I'm not the same person. I don't have the energy like I had last year and it shows in the way I play ... For Damon, let him rest in peace. For us, let us enjoy each other through the bad times and the good times."
"Damon to me was a shining star in a dark sky," Arizona basketball player Ben Davis said. "It is kind of sad that it takes something like this to make you realize what you have."