Black ribbons continue to adorn the doors of Hilbun Hall in remembrance of associate geosciences professor Leo Lynch.
Lynch, 49, died Tuesday at the North Mississippi Medical Center at 3 a.m. due to a self-inflicted wound, according to Oktibbeha County coroner Mike Hunt.
Darrel Schmitz, Mississippi State University geosciences department head, said the news of Lynch’s death was tragic and unexpected.
“I will miss his laugh and his sense of humor,” he said. “He was an enjoyable person to be around.”
Lynch always enjoyed making light of things, Schmitz said.
“He would bring items to the faculty meeting, like an inflatable moose’s head to lighten the mood,” he said.
Lynch’s wife Brenda Kirkland, assistant geosciences professor, said he was very devoted to his students.
“He loved teaching at MSU,” she said. “He expected his students to learn a lot in his class, and I think they did. The geosciences department was also a perfect match for him, and he had many good friends there.”
Kirkland said Lynch was always the funniest person in the room.
“He loved puns and old jokes, and if he could make a bad pun, he would,” she said. “He would use humor to make people feel better.”
Kirkland said Lynch enjoyed playfully making fun of people sometimes.
“If he knew that you had a scab, he would always leave it picked,” she said.
Kirkland said he was passionate about science and geology.
“He knew from the age of six that he wanted to be a geologist,” she said. “Before he came here, he worked on important research on the relationship between bacteria and the formation of rocks.”
Geosciences professor Charles Wax said Lynch was a well-liked, lovable guy and will be missed.
“He was simply the wittiest guy we have ever had,” he said. “He will be long remembered for his sense of humor and antics.”
Assistant geosciences professor Grady Dixon said he met Lynch when he first arrived at MSU as a student in 1999. He said Lynch was an extremely intelligent professor and researcher.
“There are very few people who did his research at the university,” he said. “He was doing some cutting-edge research in the field of nanobacteria.”
Broadcast meteorology graduate student Tori Shaw said she knew Lynch more as a friend rather than a teacher.
“We would talk about random things like our favorite movies and music,” she said. “We had even planned a day to wear our Led Zeppelin T-shirts.”
Shaw said Lynch was not a typical professor.
“His office looked like a time warp to the past,” she said. “There were beads, lava lamps and music posters everywhere.”
Geosciences graduate student Calvin Lim said he remembers Lynch as always joking and being upbeat.
“I really do think that it was a great loss,” he said. “He was always wanting to help other people.”
Lynch earned his bachelors degree from Tufts University in Boston, his master’s degree from Dartmouth University in New Hampshire and his doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin.
He is survived by his wife, Brenda L. Kirkland, daughter Billiejean Insinna Kirkland, step-daughter Margaret Jean W. George and son Anthony Insinna Kirkland.
A memorial service for Lynch is scheduled for today at 10 a.m. in the Chapel of Memories with Rev. Jonathan Stokes conducting the service.