Richard "Fox" Meredith "is a traveler and a true friend," his mother Annetia explained.

"One of his friends described him best," Annetia Meredith said. "Frayed rope sandals. Shaggy, reddish-brown hair, silver ear cuff and a black choker twined around a coin, barely visible through the collar of a flowing white shirt, eyes filled with wonder - Richard could make any experience feel like an adventure," his friend Mythili Sanikommu wrote.

Meredith, who transferred to Vanderbilt fall of 2008 as a junior, had spent his sophomore year in Scotland attending St. Andrews University after a year at Beliot University in Illinois. While overseas, he traveled to Morocco and backpacked his way to Amsterdam during a charity race for St. Andrews. Meredith was scheduled to go abroad again this spring.

On Dec. 21 of last year, however, Meredith's travels came to an untimely close. He was killed in a car accident as a passenger in Kentucky.

"These days he is traveling in a different way," his mother said.
Wednesday afternoon, Richard's friends, professors and family will celebrate his life in a memorial service open to the public at 4:30 p.m. in Benton Chapel. The service will include a slideshow and video about Meredith's life at Vanderbilt and abroad.

"I think in the ǃÚcelebration of life,' people will get a better sense of who Richard was," his mother said.

"His mom needs to see what an impact he made here," said sophomore Patty Ojeda, one of Meredith's friends. "I would just like to see a lot of the Vandy campus come and pay their respects and love for Fox. It's going to be so quiet here without him. He was always willing to talk, even if he was in a rush."

Meredith, an anthropology major, was extremely interested in other cultures, especially eastern ones, his mother explained. This fall, he participated in Masala-SACE's Diwali celebration.

"He was an outdoorsman - he loved sports, he was always so curious, too," said Ojeda, who was a part of Meredith's dance. "Things were always hum drum at practice until Fox got there."

Nicknamed for his reddish-brown hair, Meredith was unique, his mother said.

For many of Meredith's friends, his untimely death did not feel real, according to Ojeda.

"When I heard, I didn't believe it," Ojeda said. "I called his phone to see if he was there - he wasn't."

Fox Meredith's Facebook account remains active, creating a place for friends to show their condolences and grief. Friends from all over the world have written messages to him on his wall and pictures continue to be tagged.

"I haven't been to see all of the posts," Annetia Meredith said. "But people have told me that they are using it to communicate with him."

Ojeda is compiling photos of Meredith from the past semester to give to his mother, she said.

"Hopefully we can get them together soon for Mrs. Meredith," Ojeda said.

Meredith's mother said there is no easy way to deal with the loss of her son, but hopes that this week her son's friends and family can celebrate his life with his friends.

"He was a unique son and he loved life," she said. "I miss him so much."