On Monday evening, Berlin police learned of the death of Patrick Wood, a recent graduate of Stanford's Class of 2005. Wood, a double major in mathematics and computer science, had been interning at Siemens, a German engineering firm. He was planning to return to Stanford this fall to complete a co-term in computer science.

Ryan Wirtz, a 2003 graduate and friend of Wood in Berlin, fondly recalled Wood's love of the city and passion for German culture.

“He was moved by German music and literature, and had a profound grasp of the German language,” he said. “He saw Germany as a society that was very introspective and he was very thoughtful himself, so he really fit in here and liked it. He felt at home here.”

Wirtz also remembered Wood's enjoyment of the Berlin scene.

“He loved to party in Berlin and loved to go out to the hippest clubs,” he said. “[He was] in the scene, but not of the scene. He found it exciting and funny, and liked to observe it from a distance. He saw a lot of irony in it.”

Wirtz added that this was typical of Wood's desire to explore “things that were complex” and noted his “insatiable appetite for learning and challenges — and math jokes.”

He also characterized Wood as a “loyal friend and very generous to the people he cared about. [He had a] great ability to draw people into his life.”

An attendee of the Stanford in Berlin program in spring 2004, Wood also interned at BMW in Munich throughout the summer of 2004 as part of Stanford's Krupp Internship program.

James Ollunga, Class of 2005, attended Stanford in Berlin with Wood and lived with him on campus during their junior and senior years. Ollunga similarly remembered Wood as “very warm” and a “very nice person to get along with.”

“He was great at just being able to fit into a group and make everyone feel really warm around him,” he said. “In Berlin we’d all go out together and he'd get us all laughing.”

Junior Christine Boehm, who lived with Wood in Haus Mitteleuropa during his senior year, called Wood “a lot of fun to be around” and noted his “quirky sense of humor.”

“He brought a lot of life to the house last year, especially with his piano playing and the little things he did for people,” she said, adding about his piano playing that “it was a wonderful treat to hear him play.”

Ollunga called Wood a “virtuoso” and recalled hearing his music floating through the lounges of 680 Lomita and Haus Mitt, while Ollunga was on his way to breakfast or class.

As a fellow early riser, Boehm often had the opportunity to eat breakfast with Wood before the rest of the house awoke.

“He would make me scrambled eggs,” she recalled.

Boehm also remembered Wood as “a really smart guy,” and Ollunga noted Wood’s strong interest in “mathematical and computational problems.”

“He was very enthusiastic about what he studied,” Ollunga added. “He'd wrap his mind around a problem in math.”

According to Ollunga, family was “very important” to Wood, and he recalled meeting Wood's grandparents when they came to visit him in Berlin in the spring of 2004.

Ollunga also remembered the poster-size photograph of Wood “and his sister on a cable in San Francisco,” which hung on Wood's 680 bedroom wall.

A memorial service was held for Wood in Berlin yesterday. Funeral arrangements are still pending.

Said Boehm: “[Wood was just] one of those people who's really good to have around.”

Wirtz agreed.

“I'll miss his brilliance and I'll miss being able to talk to him. I'll miss his sense of humor and how he always had something insightful and unexpected to say.”

Said Ollunga, “I'll miss Pat, and I'm just glad we had the time together that we did. I just hope God can give his family and [all of his friends] strength right now.”