Freshman who 'radiated positivity' dies in crash
By: Kate Jacobson
/ The State News
Reedy
Sante Perrelli remembers the first day he met engineering freshman Mark Reedy, when Reedy walked up to him at a tryout for the MSU men’s volleyball club team, looked him in the eye and extended his hand.
“He said … ‘Hi, my name is Mark Reedy and I’m a swimmer, but I want to learn how to play volleyball and I’ll do anything to learn,’” said Perrelli, the volleyball team’s coach.
“He made that impression right when he walked into the gym. He was just a winner.”
Reedy, 18, died in a car accident Friday afternoon when the vehicle he was riding in slid on ice and collided with a truck. Reedy and the driver, 21-year-old Brendan Burke, were on the highway near Economy, Ind., located about 70 miles northeast of Indianapolis, Wayne County Police in Indiana said. Both died of injuries resulting from the crash.
Mark Reedy’s mother, Marcia Reedy, said her son and Burke were traveling to Miami (Ohio) University to visit friends. Burke was a student manager for the Miami (Ohio) hockey team and the son of Brian Burke, general manager of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs.
A visitation service is scheduled for 3-8 p.m. today at A.J. Desmond & Sons in Royal Oak. A funeral service is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Hugo of the Hills Catholic Church in Bloomfield Hills.
Marcia Reedy said Mark Reedy was studying to be a civil engineer, participated in various sports and enjoyed art and pottery. She said her son was talented, creative and kind.
“We want to celebrate his life,” she said. “We feel his 18 years of life were such wonderful years. I’m sure he didn’t regret anything, and we don’t either.”
Marcia Reedy said her son was a diver at Bloomfield Hills Lahser High School in suburban Detroit, where he placed second in the state in his junior and senior years.
Agribusiness sophomore Emily Winsjansen, a friend of Mark Reedy, said she once asked him about his diving accomplishments, but Reedy humbly downplayed his skill.
“He was never conceited or cocky about anything,” she said. “I remember asking him one time, ‘I heard you were a good diver,’ and he said, ‘Yeah, I was alright,’ and I found out how good he was later on, and I was surprised.”
It was Mark Reedy’s dedication to learning new things that made an impact on no-preference freshman Kevin Campbell. They both joined the volleyball team this season without extensive volleyball background.
Campbell said a friend once brought a unicycle from home back to MSU. A few friends tried to ride it, but Mark Reedy mastered it by the end of the week, Campbell said.
“He quickly struck me as someone who was just good at anything he did,” Campbell said.
Campbell’s outlook on life changed in the five months he knew Mark Reedy.
“He radiated positivity,” Campbell said.
“I honestly tried to think of some time where he was legitimately angry or unhappy, and I just couldn’t do it.”
Perrelli said members of the club volleyball team met at his home this weekend after hearing of Mark Reedy’s death. Members of the team were devastated by the loss, but often found themselves smiling as they recalled memories of Mark Reedy, Perrelli said.
“He found joy in his challenges in life,” Perrelli said.
“That value is something that his peers drew from, and last night at the house when people were here, that’s what they remembered, and they laughed even though they wanted to cry.”
02/06/10 @ 1:17pm
Mark was a GREAT PERSON! He will be missed by everyone.
02/06/10 @ 2:31pm
Please accept my condolences and my prayers. I have heartbroken to see what a family will be suffering at the loss of their son. I am praying for the driver too. I pray that he realize it was ice and not his fault. My heart goes out to everyone suffering this loss. God Bless you all during your time of mourning.
02/06/10 @ 2:33pm
*I have meant to be I am
02/06/10 @ 3:19pm
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=buccigross_john&id=4685761
I had just read a story about Burke on ESPN.com. This is sad.
02/06/10 @ 4:55pm
We are all saddened by this overwhelming news. Mark was a respected and admired member of the MSU Men’s Volleyball Club and dear friend to many here in East Lansing. His athletic skills were only surpassed by his humility, respect for others and loyal commitment to the things he loved. In his own way and by his actions, he taught others around him how to persevere through adversity and find profound joy by simply being an excellent person. We extend our deepest sympathy to Mark’s family and friends and have been honored to have him be a part of our MSU community.
02/07/10 @ 1:36pm
lol, you are cruel to say what you said. Even a mercedes, will slide on ice! I own one!! This is no place for you to pull your stunts. Try and show you have a heart for ONCE!
02/07/10 @ 5:54pm
See the obituary for Mark Reedy at
desmondfuneralhome.com
02/07/10 @ 7:37pm
I hate to see headlines like this. It sounds like he had so much going for him, and a beautiful life ahead of him.
My prayers to the family and friends of Mark and Brendan; that their memories provide light through the dark path ahead.
Rest in peace.
02/07/10 @ 8:57pm
I am still trying to understand why such a tragic accident would happen to a more undeserving person. I am 2 years older than Mark but I grew up in the same neighborhood as him and was also on the diving team at our high school. I remember assistant coaching him when he was in middle school and his skills actually surpassed mine by the time I was a senior. He was such a talented young person and had, by far, the best personality of anybody I have ever met. I would always see him riding his bike around campus and would always give me the friendliest wave.
He will be sorely missed by all those around him and it is so touching seeing what people have to say about him on his facebook wall. We will miss you so much, Mark.
02/07/10 @ 10:22pm
I’m just wondering, was alcohol involved with either vehicle? It would be a tragedy to have yet another MSU youth death have alcohol be a factor, even if it was the other car or the driver (not Mark) who was drinking.
02/07/10 @ 10:27pm
That is na dumb question. Grow up!
02/08/10 @ 1:37am
I do not believe that was a dumb question by any means. The girl was just asking because she is correct in saying that there have been several student deaths this year that were alcohol related, and it’s so very important for us as students to be aware of the risk and dangers that come along with drinking and driving.
A more recent death this year was actually that of native of West Bloomfield, one city next to Bloomfield Hills. I went to high school with Mark, he was honestly the most genuine person I have ever met.
At this time, it is not believed to be a factor. I believe the accident happened sometime in the afternoon.
02/08/10 @ 5:47am
The SN should show some class and remove the comments section of these type of articles.
02/08/10 @ 6:59am
The SN does remove the comments section on SOME of these kinds of articles…I do think they were removed for that frat kid a few months ago….
02/08/10 @ 8:57am
Anon, alcohol was NOT involved. Have some respect and watch what you say.
02/08/10 @ 10:02am
To: Above comments, you are just being nosey, if drinking were a factor it would have been stated. Ice is the factor, I doubt you knew Mark and you and MSUgirl are most likely the same person. Just stop with the needless questions. Assumptions and false truths only bring more pain to this story, NOW STOP!
Anon, you like to cause a great deal of trouble I think you are a troll! Get a life and leave other’s lives alone! This is NOT the place to act like an a**! Go somewhere else, where people aren’t in pain! They will have more energy to fight you off. Time to grow up, good ridons!
02/08/10 @ 10:09am
To student, you wrote “The SN should show some class and remove the comments section of these type of articles.” All you have to do is click ‘Flag This Comment’, it is on the right hand side of the article in green, that alerts the SN that an inappropriate comment has been made and they will remove it. You can help, you can keep these foolish comments from exisiting or at least being kept here. Thanks for your comment!
02/08/10 @ 11:29am
I am from Bloomfield Hills, and went to school with Mark’s sister. I didn’t know Mark but from reading this article, I can see that he shared the same positive and sunny disposition that I know of his mother and sister. The Reedy family is truly an asset to the community and I am so sorry to hear of their loss. My prayers are with the families of both young men. I know God is watching over them.
02/08/10 @ 12:26pm
I honestly do not believe I am being nosey, I was just stating that alcohol was not a factor, because clearly the girl who asked was not able to come to that conclusion herself by reading the article. I actually did know Mark, I have known him since childhood, he grew up down the street from me. May god bless him and his family, and every other person who has been affected by this tragic accident.
02/08/10 @ 1:30pm
I apologize to you. I wrote you earlier. There is a person here who loves to stir trouble. I thought you were them. I have read enough of these articles to see this person loves to stir trouble and They like to use various names, or so I believe. Darko is one of them, I thought that you were him. See he is here again. He hates Frat people and uses this as his platform to bully them. Part of what he may feel about them may be justified, but he groups people under one heading and then shows his distain. He also tore that girl appart who killed her friend Joe while drunk. She made horrible choices, but she has to pay for it the rest of her life. But to have him go after Joe to…while Joe was trying to stop her. This guy likes to stir trouble sorry I thought you were him.
02/08/10 @ 2:01pm Quit being everyone’s judge and jury, how about you put yourself on trail, what do you see? Are you really that perfect person? I think the answer is no. Don’t you realize the HELL these people are in that you them condemn over and over again. One day you will look back and see how you have behaved, stop now so you will have less regrets. Try the word compassion on for SIZE!
02/08/10 @ 3:56pm
I am praying for the family and friends of Mark Reedy. What a beautiful quote “‘Hi, my name is Mark Reedy and I’m a swimmer, but I want to learn how to play volleyball and I’ll do anything to learn,’” You can tell he had a wonderful spirit, joyful and positve. I am so sorry for everyone’s loss. I also am praying for his friend that was driving, it was an accident. The same thing happened in Macomb County a few weeks back. A mother hit a patch of ice and went into a Ford 150 and it killed her daughter and her daughter’s friends, they were twins. I am grateful the driver survived, I hope he understands it was not his fault and this type of accident can happen to anyone.
02/08/10 @ 4:43pm
You can follow these two links to watch the services for Mark tonight, and his funeral tomorrow.
Service tonight at 7:00pm: http://www.eventbywire.com/viewevent/?id=051-215
Event ID: 051-215
Broadcast of funeral tomorrow at 1:00pm: http://www.eventbywire.com/viewevent/?id=920-186
Event ID: 920-186
02/08/10 @ 6:53pm
I am so sorry, I didn’t realize both young men died. I thought from the earlier article that the driver survived and hadn’t fully read this article till now. My prayers are with both families and friends. I am so sorry to read this.
02/08/10 @ 7:37pm
My family and I met Mark when he was supervisor of the Boat Docks at Pine Lake Country Club. Mark was such a motivated young man and always was there for us at Pine Lake. Such a tragic loss of a truly special young man. Prayers to the family and friends of Mark. I am sure he will be missed by many. God Bless.