Students determined to keep memory of friend alive

The last thing Barrett "Bear" Townsend said to his Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity brother Tanner Scott was "I love you."
Scott recalls the memory with a nod, straight-faced, not actually looking at anything. A face that says more than words can about the emotions that daunt him.
His name was Bear, and he hugged like one too.
Most kids on this campus knew who Townsend was. They knew him by his laugh, his charm and his radiating happiness.
Townsend passed away at 5:47 p.m. Jan. 23. Bill Harris, Lee County coroner, determined Townsend died of multiple blunt force injuries.
On Jan. 25, a vigil was held in his name, attended by friends and family, many bussed in from Townsend's home in Tampa, Fla.
Townsend was 22 years old and a senior in software engineering.
He graduated in Tampa from Jesuit High School, the motto of which says, "Always be a man for others."
Jack Townsend, Bear's father, said Bear always exemplified that motto.
"Bear was a very bright light with a boundless spirit for life," Jack said. "He could make a party. He never met a stranger. He was an open-hearted, wonderful man. I had an immense love for him."
Jack was deeply touched by the stories presented at the vigil. He was honored to know his son had helped and taken the time to brighten people's lives.
Townsend, a certified instructor, taught yoga, a kettle bell class, according to Gene Buckley, one of Bear's previous roommates.
According to Jack, Bear was a precocious, curious and creative young man. He liked to draw and build,and the young boy even had an idea book.
When Bear was 12, he and his friends started a band named "Almost a Band."
As a garage band, their name was a double entendre: if they nailed a song, you'd say "they're almost a band." If they didn't do so good, then after all, "they're almost a band," it fit too.
Jack said Bear always had tons of friends. As a high school student, Bear was a wrestler, football player and extremely talented guitar player.
Bear watched his older brothers, Lyght and Jake, and his parents Jack and Helen were a constant source of enforcement and positivity. They taught him that through creativity, you can always make a difference.
Alex Harper lived with Bear his sophomore year in 2009. Harper said Bear was a beautiful person in all aspects of his life.
Harper reminisces on days in Bear's "big purple chair." Harper said he could just sit and talk, and whatever Bear was doing he would put on pause to listen.
"Any moment or experience I shared with him was better than the last," Harper said. "He was always evolving. He was Bear Townsend"
Gene Buckley, senior in building science and Bear's pledge brother, said the first time he met Bear, they were instantly best friends and throughout their friendship they gravitated toward one another.
"He's just internally optimistic, loving and caring, everything you'd ever want in a person," Buckley said.
Buckley said he and Bear would talk to for hours about the future and anything on their minds. Buckley said Bear gave 100 percent open ears and accepting and honest feedback.
"There were days where I actively told myself to be like Bear," Buckley