Message to the campus community by President Brenneman and VP Born
To: The Goshen College community
Late Friday afternoon (May 23), we learned of a tragic and terrible loss to the Goshen College community. Deanne Elizabeth Binde, a junior communication and theater major, was killed in an automobile crash while driving home to Lake Park, Minn., late Thursday night. We have offered our condolences to Deanne’s parents, Dale and Debbie Binde, and we ask for your prayers to sustain them during this sad and difficult time.
Initial reports from the Minnesota State Patrol indicate that Deanne’s car drifted across Interstate Highway 94, struck the center median, overturned and was then struck by two other cars. She was driving alone. The other drivers suffered minor injuries or no injuries at all, the State Patrol said.
Our prayers go out to Deanne’s family and to her many friends at home and at Goshen College. Her loss will be deeply felt and she will be greatly missed. We have been in contact with some of Deanne’s classmates and professors to inform them of her death and to offer our support.
We have fond memories of Deanne’s time at the college. She brought joy to many people on campus, particularly her energy and performances on the stage and behind the scenes. As many of you know, Deanne played the lead in the fall mainstage play “Step on a Crack.” Over the winter, she coordinated and directed “The Vagina Monologues” at New World Arts in downtown Goshen. This spring she was in the cast of the mainstage play “Absolutely! {perhaps}.” And during the just-concluded May Term, she was the technical director assistant for the musical “Quilters.”
In addition to her love of theater, she was a DJ for The Globe, played on the softball team, recycled with Eco-PAX, and was a member of the Catholic Student Association. During the spring of her sophomore year, she participated in SST in the Dominican Republic. In the community she volunteered with Meals on Wheels and La Casa, and regularly attended St. John’s Catholic Church.
Service information will be made available on http://www.goshen.edu/oncampus/ as soon as it becomes available. The college also is exploring ways to help people remember Deanne for her love and contributions to Goshen College, and will keep you posted about that as well.
We are scattered across the country and the world tonight, which makes this tragedy even more difficult. But the loss of one member of our community impacts us all. Wherever you are, please join us in prayer and mourning.
Peace,
President Jim Brenneman and Vice President for Student Life Bill Born