Neighbors, classmates say farewell to student
St. Margaret of Cortona Church last Friday overflowed with family and friends of a beloved 19-year-old college student who died last week after being hospitalized for excessive alcohol consumption in an Albany home.
Two charter buses carried students from the University at Albany-SUNY and Xavier High School to the Catholic church at 452 W. 260th St. so classmates could bid their final farewell to Trevor Duffy, a University at Albany student. Mr. Duffy was remembered for his active participation in church, sports and other organizations in his native Riverdale before leaving home for college.
“The church was full beyond capacity,” Cathy Stack said after the Nov. 21 ceremony. “The community came out to support the family.”
The ceremony for Mr. Duffy, the family’s third of seven children, was so packed that dozens of people stood in the church entryway to pay their respects and hear the pastor’s remarks about Mr. Duffy, a graduate of St. Margaret’s of Cortona School and Xavier High School in Manhattan.
Father Terence Lee led the homily during the somber ceremony.
“I know that over the last few days and during this week, many people have expressed their sympathy to you,” he told the Duffy family.
He went on to say, “But now we do it as a group and we bring our sympathy strengthened by our faith and we unite our faith with the faith of the Duffy family in a special way — and also unite our faith with all the people around the world who are mourning [and] asking God to be our consolation and our hope.”
Mr. Duffy, a sophomore double major in history and economics, died on Nov. 17 after Albany police arrived at a private house at 461 Hamilton St. around 2 a.m. on Nov. 16. They found him and four other male college students, also 19, suffering from excessive alcohol consumption after a party.
Police said that the other men were released after receiving treatment at local hospitals.
But Mr. Duffy, who was unconscious at the scene, died at Albany Medical Center Hospital, police said.
Keywords
St. Margaret of Cortona Church, University at Albany, Trevor Duffy, Xavier High School, Tanisia Morris
