A Binghamton University student passed away from heart failure Wednesday night after participating in an intramural basketball game.
According to a report from the Press & Sun-Bulletin, Samuel Lincoln George, 19, collapsed during a game between friends at the West Gym. Members of Harpur’s Ferry arrived on the scene, but were unable to revive him.
The parents of Samuel George, Austin and Nancy George, submitted an obituary to the Press & Sun-Bulletin, but both University spokeswoman Gail Glover and Craig Dube, the assistant director for campus recreation, declined to comment on the identity of the student in order to respect the family’s request for privacy.
“The student’s family have asked that we respect their privacy during this time and we will do as much as we can to honor their request,” Glover said.
According to longtime friend Anthony Paniccia, a senior political science major at BU, George was a graduate of Binghamton High School and was currently in his second semester at Binghamton as a freshman economics major.
“Sam was very friendly, outgoing … always there to help his friends,” Paniccia said. “We would always have debates, philosophical and political … just hanging out.”
George’s parents remembered their son with love in his obituary.
“Sam was intrepid and full of life. Everything he undertook, he did with passion and energy,” the obituary read. “What we will remember the most about Sam is that he never wasted a moment of his life, and how he always found joy in challenging himself.”
According to a B-Line sent out to students Thursday night, the University has reached out to the family, and the University’s Counseling Center is available “for people affected by this untimely loss.”
According to the obituary, the family will receive friends at the Ernest H. Parsons Funeral Home, Inc., 71 Main St., Binghamton on Friday evening from 7 to 9 p.m. Funeral services will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at Christ Church, 10 Henry St., Binghamton and will be officiated by Rev. John Martinichio.