Student, musician Yoho won’t be soon forgotten

While the campus community grieves the loss of Shawn Yoho, 20, his professors and closest friends wear solemn smiles as they remember their friend's bright smile and vivacious personality.

Yoho, a sophomore communication studies major at UNC, was on his way to California to play with his band when the vehicle he and two others were traveling in was rear-ended.

Utah Highway Patrol Corporal Todd Johnson said the collision occurred at approximately 1:36 p.m. Jan. 11 on the westbound lane of I-70 near Richfield, Utah.

"Westbound traffic was stopped because an electrical company was dealing with a fallen power line," Johnson said. "A vehicle from behind, not paying attention, rear-ended them. It was a Honda Element that rear-ended a Dodge Durango, which then hit a car in front of it. Shawn Yoho was a passenger in the Durango. A musical instrument case in the back of the Durango during the collision was propelled forward and hit him in the back of the head and gave him head trauma."

Yoho was taken to a hospital in Richfield and then transported by medical helicopter to Utah Valley Medical Center in Provo, Utah, where he died from his injuries Jan. 12, Johnson said.

The driver of the Durango and the other passenger, both students at Aims Community College, had minor injuries.

A candlelight vigil will be held in Yoho's memory at 7 p.m. Thursday in front of Lawrenson Hall. The funeral for Yoho will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Calvary Church, 18900 E. Hampden Avenue in Aurora.

David Palmer, an assistant professor of communication at the University of Northern Colorado, said Yoho was in his Non-Verbal Communication class last semester and was liked by everyone he met.

"He was just an awesome young man," Palmer said. "He was very genuine, full of life, full of laughter. He was fun to be around. He was very creative, and he was a musician.  He was a joy to have as a student. He was a wonderful addition to class, and his input was welcome. When he talked, people listened. It's just a deep loss for everybody. Life is very fragile."

A handful of Yoho's close friends at UNC said they will always remember how he was able to make people happy.

"Whether you were having a good or bad day, it just seemed like his attitude was contagious," said Jarrett Durant, a sophomore psychology major and one of Yoho's roommates this year. "Whether he was in good or bad moods, he'd just seem to bring people up."

Sophomore journalism major Chris Johnson, Yoho's roommate for the last two years, said it was easy for Yoho to befriend everyone.

"A couple days before the accident, we were all walking to class, and a girl from one of his classes came up and just gave him a hug," Johnson said. "We were just like, ‘What?' A girl that he had met this semester — so just one class — had come up and gave him a hug."

Johnson also said the amount of emotional assistance he's received from other friends has made the situation more bearable.

"The support had really just made everything so much easier for us because we're surrounded by people that knew Shawn," Johnson said. "We could seriously tell stories about Shawn all day that just make us laugh. Given the circumstances, everything has just been a lot easier than it should have been just because of the guy Shawn was and all the memories you think of. You can't help but just smile instead of cry."

Quintin Myers, a junior history major, said he met Yoho when he was 5 years old when they joined a T-ball team in Aurora.

"Shawn and I met before I have recollection of meeting anybody else," Myers said. "He was kind of like my very first friend."

Myers, who also played on a roller hockey team with Yoho coached by Yoho's father when they were younger, said he'll miss the smile of one of his best friends.