Junior construction science major
honored during Dec. 7 Silver Taps

Gerardo Ivan Aguirre, a junior construction science major from Fort Worth remembered by his friends and teachers as a friendly, gentle giant and earnest student, was honored at Texas A&M's Dec. 7 Silver Taps ceremony.

Aguirre, who died of heart failure Oct. 28, 2010, was interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Fort Worth. He is survived by his parents, Gerardo and Maria Aguirre, his brother, Edwardo Aguirre, and his sister, Karen Melisa Aguirre.

"Gerardo was, in fact, a gentle giant," said David Bilbo, a professor of construction science who had Aguirre as a student. "There are many things I admired about him, not the least was his personal drive to always deliver his best effort in anything he was asked to do. This was coupled with an almost insatiable appetite for knowledge and his personal quest to find out more."

Bilbo said he enjoyed talking between classes with Aguirre about construction and his upcoming internship.

"The times he would stop by the office to visit were always welcome breaks for me," said Bilbo. "His smile was contagious and a constant part of his demeanor. I looked forward to seeing him in class, and often kidded with him about it being impossible for me not to notice if he wasn’t there — and it was, not only because of his stature, but because of his smile that lit up the classroom."

The last time Bilbo saw Aguirre, he had brought his brother, Edwardo, to a social Bilbo had for students at his house.

"I remember the pride in his eyes when he introduced Edwardo to me," said Bilbo. "He and Edwardo were fishing at the pond and I kept trying to get them to come to the house and eat. He was so determined for he and his brother to catch fish, I could never get them away from the pond." 

The fishing, said Bilbo, was not good that afternoon. "True to his determination, he stayed there until they both caught fish," said Bilbo.

A little past dusk, he and Edwardo left the pond and thanked Bilbo for inviting them. "It was a special afternoon," said Bilbo. "That is a lasting image, and how I will always remember Gerardo."

"Gerardo was such an engaged person in whatever he was doing yet always lighthearted and very respectful," said Sally Morgan, a senior construction science lecturer who had Aguirre in two of her classes. "It was a pleasure teaching him."

Ron Workman, senior construction science lecturer, had trouble pronouncing Aguirre's name on the first day of his estimating class in the fall 2009 semester.

"I made a mess of both his first and last name," he said. " I asked him if my pronunciation was close. He responded by shaking his head in a negative manner. I tried a second and third time; none of my attempts were satisfactory.  I then said, 'We’re just going to have to call you Big Slim.' That seemed to be acceptable and so 'Big Slim' became his new name. He later routinely introduced himself this way."

He was a great sport, added Workman, full of questions during and after class. He had a very positive outlook in class, he said, and he looked forward to his internship and career in the construction industry.

Aguirre was honored at Silver Taps along with Steven Craig Lofton, a civil engineering graduate student from Ridgeland, Miss., who died Oct. 13.

Silver Taps is held on the first Tuesday of any month during the regular school year when there has been one or more student deaths during the preceding month or since the last Silver Taps ceremony was held.

On the day of the ceremony, all campus flags are flown at half-staff, and a list of the names of those to be remembered is posted at the base of the flagpole in the Academic Plaza.

That night, lights on campus are turned off as students gather in silence on the plaza in front of the Academic Building. At 10:15 p.m., chimes from the Albritton Bell Tower begin to play. The ceremony begins at 10:30 o’clock as the Ross Volunteers Firing Squad marches in slow cadence to the statue of Lawrence Sullivan Ross. Three volleys are fired. "Silver Taps" is played by six buglers three times — to the North, West, and South.

The solemn ceremony dates back to 1898, when it was first held upon the death of the university's president, Lawrence Sullivan Ross. The ceremony has changed little since that time.

For more information about Silver Taps, including a list of students honored in past ceremonies, go to: http://studentaffairs.tamu.edu/.

 

- Posted: Dec. 6, 2010 -

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Contact:   Phillip Rollfing, prollfing@archone.tamu.edu or 979.458.0442.