Anja Sundali | Argonaut
Friends, family, professors and University of Idaho community members remembered Katy Benoit Wednesday evening in the Administration Building auditorium.
Benoit died Aug. 22 after being shot outside her Moscow apartment. The shooter is believed to be former UI assistant professor of psychology Ernesto A. Bustamante.
Dean of Students Bruce Pitman began the memorial addressing attendees. Pitman said he had a chance to get to know Benoit’s family, which he called “remarkable.”
“The rest of the evening will be a celebration of music and the spoken word, but also a time of healing for family, for friends, for members of our community,” Pitman said. “Especially for those who are on the front lines for law enforcement, for our staff at the Alternatives to Violence, for our mental health community, the people who are also deeply affected by this tragedy.”
UI President M. Duane Nellis said the best way to honor Benoit is to embrace her love of life.
“Times of loss like this are times to reflect and to come together as a community. They are times to help each other heal in the wake of a significant loss,” Nellis said. “We gather tonight to recognize a vibrant life, the life of a fellow Vandal, that continues on our music, and in our memories.”
Nellis said Benoit’s parents reminded him that Benoit would want the community to remember her time at UI.
“We’re here because of a shared connection to Katy Benoit. She was a Vandal, one of our daughters, a sorority sister, a cellist, a psychologist in training, a bright, talented and courageous young woman,” Nellis said. “This event is not meant to be a time of mourning … but of shared communities recognizing a vibrant life.”
Throughout the memorial service members of the Lionel Hampton School of Music played a variety of cello pieces, including “The Swan” by Camille Saint-Saens and Antonio Vivaldi’s “Adagio” from Concerto in G minor. Benoit was a cellist and minored in music at UI.
Retiree of the Lionel Hampton School of Music, Bill Wharton, was Benoit’s cello instructor from grade school through her university career. Wharton played several of the musical pieces during the memorial in addition to speaking about his mentorship of Benoit.
“She found many exciting experiences and challenges here (at UI), and she set off to explore all of them,” Wharton said. “Her life in the sorority was important to her, as were her classes. She learned to balance an academic life and the exuberant life.”
Benoit also won honors as an All-State and All-Northwest cellist, and was a talented violinist and pianist, he said.
“She felt that psychology helped her in relationships with people, which led her to her major field of study,” Wharton said. “Her music was also a way to communicate with people … it was her desire to help people have a better life by using the knowledge she gained at the University of Idaho.”
Sarah Sutter, a friend of Benoit’s and a graduate student in music at UI, brought a chain-link bracelet of Benoit’s to the memorial that she said contained words that best described her.
“Listen carefully, because these (words) tell you the most about who Katy was, and serve as good advice for anyone willing to hear it,” Sutter said. “The four links say ‘find compassion,’ ‘be brave,’ ‘take chances,’ and ‘create change.'”
After the memorial, Benoit’s family hosted a reception for friends and community members in the courtyard outside the Administration Building.