On Thursday, Jan. 24, University of Maine student Dylan Cooper, 24, died after being hit by a pickup truck near the intersection of Bennoch Road and Stillwater Avenue in Old Town. Originally from Lincoln, Cooper was a third-year electrical engineering technology student. He graduated from Hampden Academy and attended Eastern Maine Community College before transferring to UMaine.
“We extend the deepest sympathy of the UMaine community to his family and friends, and all who were touched by his generous spirit,” said Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Robert Dana in an email sent out to members of the UMaine community on the morning of Jan. 25. “There was no end to his desire to help others. He touched people with his passion, purpose and good nature. His faculty mentors remember him as a true pleasure to have in class.”
According to Dana’s email, Cooper also had a passion for airplanes and engineering physics and was a volunteer physics tutor for electrical engineering technology students.
Cooper was a brother of the UMaine chapter of Alpha Delta, the campus service fraternity whose members wear the Bananas the Bear costume at sporting events. This is the second loss for the fraternity in a relatively short timespan as last year, on Jan. 15, first-year brother Collin MacMillan, 18, passed away unexpectedly.
Members of the community can reach out to the Counseling Center at (207) 581-1392, UMaine’s Employee Assistance Program at (877) 622-4327 and the Dean of Students Office at (207) 581-1406
