As Rob Rengel sat in a pew at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, he became overwhelmed by the number of people there to honor his brother’s life.
“They said they’d never seen so many people there,” Rengel said. “He touched a lot of lives.”
According to a letter sent to the residence halls, Rob’s brother, Chris Rengel, died of an apparent heart attack while visiting a friend at the Medical Center at about 5 p.m., Jan. 2.
“He gave more to the world than I could ever hope to give,” said Rob, a senior in anthropolgy. “He had such a big heart.”
Chris, a senior in construction systems management, was born in Sandusky and graduated from St. Mary Central Catholic High School in 2003. He had a passion for his major and spent his spare time building furniture for his family.
“He had an interest in woodworking and building houses and he wanted to be a master carpenter eventually,” Rob said.
Although construction was important to Chris, he also enjoyed photography and was a member of his high school’s bowling team.
“He wasn’t on varsity or anything, but he was a lot of fun to have on the team,” said Jonathan Smith, a sophomore in finance.
Residents of Archer House, where Chris lived, were offered grief counseling and transportation to his wake and funeral.
“I think it’s obviously never a good thing when this sort of thing happens, but one good thing is that the group of students involved become so much closer,” said Tricia Zelaya, hall director of the Archer complex.
Franklin County Coroner Bradley Lewis said the cause of death was an enlarged heart but was unsure why it was enlarged.
Chris’ death is the third resident hall student since autumn quarter began.
Contributions may be made in his name to the Learning Center Technology Fund, c/o St. Mary Central Catholic High School, 410 W. Jefferson St., Sandusky, OH 44870.
Mary Dannemiller can be reached at [email protected].
