Teacher, grad student remembered

by Caleb Fort

Daily Lobo

About 150 people, filling the seats and standing in the aisles, gathered in the Alumni Memorial Chapel on Friday.

They came to remember Jesse Greenberg, 24, a UNM grad student who died by suicide Jan. 22.

"Leave it to Jesse to have a memorial that's standing room only," said Greenberg's uncle, Jack Chapman.

Everett Greenberg, Jesse's grandfather, said the large turnout was comforting.

"It's great to see so many people here," he said. "It's a great feeling for the family to see he was liked and loved by all these people."

Greenberg was well liked by almost everyone he came in contact with, but he suffered from depression, Chapman said.

"He was a favorite teacher, favorite friend, favorite nephew, favorite son, favorite brother," he said. "For most of us to have been that special, that loved, that privileged favorite of so many others is more than enough. But inside Jesse a battle raged."

Greenberg did a good job of hiding his problems, Chapman said.

"This was a battle he camouflaged very well," he said. "But our favorite died on his own battlefield."

The audience consisted of Greenberg's family, co-workers, friends and fellow students.

Greenberg was a CAPS tutor and a teaching assistant in the Mathematics and Statistics Department.

Michael Lenz, a close friend, said he enjoyed spending time with Greenberg.

"He always had something really funny to say, and he was always a real pleasure to be around," he said.

The large turnout was not surprising, Lenz said.

"It was good to see the turnout," he said. "Jesse touched a lot of people, and I hope he knew that."

He said Greenberg would want his friends to remember the time he spent with them.

"I think he'd want to be remembered as a friend - the person with the friendly smile," he said. "To those that knew him really well, the best moments were just talking and sharing memories."

Jeremy Jaramillo, spokesman for the Agora Crisis Center, said he did not know the specifics of Greenberg's death, but offered some general advice for anyone with depression or suicidal thoughts.

"First off, they need to find someone to reach out to," he said. "Creating a network of friends that can help them is very important."

However, a network of friends is not enough, he said. Seeking professional help is also important for someone with serious depression.

Since people are often embarrassed to go to a counselor, they can call Agora - a 24-hour crisis hot line on campus - to get used to talking to someone about their problems, he said.