Student remembered for her energy and faith

MHCC students and faculty have spent the week in shock, trying to come to terms with the death of Taylur Dewolf, 17, who died Jan. 27 in a snowboarding accident at Mt. Hood Skibowl.

As well as being a student at MHCC, Dewolf also served as the senate administrative assistant for MHCC Associated Student Government (ASG).

Though her passing has been met with tears and grief, her fellow students and friends say they will always remember her as a supreme optimist who had nothing but care for her fellow students, family and friends.

ASG President Jackie Altamirano said, “We met in writing class last year. I didn’t know she was younger. She acted so mature. She was really bright and dedicated and motivated. She knew where she wanted to go.”

William Miller, the ASG director of diversity and a friend of Dewolf who went snowboarding with her the night she died, said, “Her pure soul always shined through everything she did. Everything about her was just so beautiful.

“Her love for God was so deep,” Miller said.  “The fact that we prayed before we went down is just so crazy.
“She left a little piece of her light with everybody,” he said.
Erica Fuller, the ASG director of Student Organizations & Clubs, said, “She would always try to make me smile. We’ve been saying she’s been an angel in disguise this whole time,”

Taylur Dewolf was remembered for her energy and passion.

Asked how they had been dealing with the loss, Altamirano said, “We’ve all been dealing with it in our own way.”
Miller said, “It’s an emotional rollercoaster. It comes and goes. You’re laughing, then your bawling. You don’t know what to do next.”.

College Center service manager David Sussman said he first heard about DeWolf’s death last Friday evening.
“I got a call from a staff member saying that (Dewolf) was missing and that the ski patrol on site was initiating the search,” he said.
It was later that night he found out she had died.
“I went from shock to just tremendous sadness, obviously, for the family,” said Sussman.

Dually enrolled at Damascus Christian High School as well as MHCC as a part of the Estacada Web Academy and Early College Program, Dewolf’s devotion to education was not her only strong point, according to Sussman. “She was very mature and capable for her age,” he said.
“She was extremely positive and she was very intelligent. I would describe her as someone who was liked by everybody,” he said.

Sussman also said that on the Saturday after Dewolf’s death, the College Center was opened as a place for students to drop in for counseling. More than 25 students came that day.

In memory of Dewolf, Sussman said many ASG members attended the MHCC basketball game Saturday and were invited to the court to participate in a moment of silence.

“Our hearts and thoughts are with the family,” said Sussman.
Recalling the night she went missing, Miller said, “We usually pray before we go up, for protection and guidance. We forgot to pray the first run and so we decided to pray at the top of the second run. Taylur led in prayer. We went down the hill and Taylur flew past us and I saw her go over the hill and that was the last time I saw her.”

After waiting 10-15 minutes, Miller and Mariah Feliciano (also an ASG member) began to search nearby for any signs of Dewolf. When they could not find her, they contacted the ski patrol, who began their search.

After the patrol had been searching for some time, Miller and Feliciano contacted Dewolf’s parents, who immediately rushed to the scene.

After several hours, Dewolf’s body was found around 11 p.m. by a sheriff’s deputy.

“I heard her dad say they found her. Mariah and I were kind of excited because we tried to remain optimistic even though we knew something was obviously wrong,” said Miller.

But when the deputy approached Miller and Dewolf’s parents with the news, Miller said the deputy’s eyes were tearing up so he knew something was wrong.
“He said that they had found Taylur and that she had died. I couldn’t talk at all. I was shaking and in shock,” said Miller.

“Before I left the mountain, I turned around and I yelled, ‘Love you, Taylur!’”
As Miller recollected all that happened that night, he remembered another event that had occurred the week before.

“Taylur told her life group last week when there was a question that was posed that said, ‘If you died, would you be ready to meet Christ?’ Everyone was silent and Taylur goes, ‘I would.’

“Taylur climbed that mountain and met God.”

A tribute written to Taylur has been posted on an ASG blog, which can be viewed at sencomhis.blog.com.

There will be a memorial service in honor of Dewolf at 1 p.m. today at the Sandy Assembly of God, 39800 Highway 26, Sandy.

Advocate Staff