Pitt student passes away over weekend

By The Pitt News Staff

A Pitt student was found dead last Saturday night in an off-campus residence in Oakland.

A supervisorat the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said police found Gregory Walters, 20, at 9:42 p.m. on April 18 at 334 Ophelia Street. The cause of death was suicide, according to the supervisor.

Walters, 20, was a sophomore finance major and a member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.

The brothers of Pi Kappa Phi held a candlelight vigil in the William Pitt Union and memorial service to honor his life Wednesday evening.

“Greg was the kind of guy to brighten your day any time you talked to him,” fraternity president Anthony Kincade said in a speech he gave at the vigil. “Greg had an indescribable charm about him that you rarely see in people and there was never a time that I didn’t walk away from a conversation smiling.”

Adam Wolff, a sophomore who was Walters’ “big brother” in the fraternity, also read a speech at the vigil. Wolff said Walters had been a great friend to him.

“He always put others above himself. He rarely boasted about himself and was always concerned about how I was doing,” Wolff said.

Pitt spokesman John Fedele said University counseling is available to students.

“The University community is saddened by Greg’s passing. Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time,” Fedele said in an email Wednesday.

Friends and family seeking counseling can contact the University Counseling Center at 412-648-7930.

Those who wish to honor Walters’ memory are encouraged to email [email protected] for a later tribute.

Editor’s Note: It is always difficult for a newspaper to report a student’s passing, but to prevent misinformation about this tragedy, The Pitt News feels obligated to do so.