By Olivia Yepez
Drew University will hold a virtual remembrance on Saturday for Ajay Sah, a junior from Nepal whose death was confirmed last week.
The ceremony is scheduled for 7 pm on May 8, 2021, on the Drew Theological Chapel YouTube channel.
Sah, 22, disappeared from the Madison campus in January, touching off an intensive search. The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office announced last week that his body had been found in March, a few miles from the Brooklyn Bridge. Sah’s death was not considered suspicious.
Saturday’s event will celebrate Sah’s life with a series of recordings from students, faculty and staff.
“I remain thankful for the work of our CLA Student Government, members of our faculty and staff and Ajay’s friends and family, who worked, hoped, and prayed steadfastly these months, and who have now come together in love and grief to contribute to this virtual event,” Frank Merckx, vice president of enrollment management and student life, said Friday in an email to the Drew community.
Flags in front of Meade Hall billowed at half-mast in Sah’s memory this week. The university has made grief counselors available on campus, where students learned of Sah’s death in the midst of their spring exams.
The community will be invited to share memories and comments via chat during the service.
Sah’s family seeks donations to cover costs of cremation, travel for family members from Nepal, and other religious and cultural rites over the next month.
A GoFundMe page, re-titled “In Loving Memory of Ajay Sah,” has raised nearly $42,000. Part of that sum was spent on the search for Sah.
“We would really appreciate your contributions to help Ajay’s family to rightfully attend and conduct his funeral,” Shiva Sah, Ajay’s older brother, wrote on the page.
Shiva Sah was actively involved in the search. He described his late brother as unconditionally kind, with a warm spirit; Ajay’s smile was well-known on campus, according to Merckx.
“His departure has left a hole in the hearts of many, and we are devastated by his loss,” Sah said.
