SUNY Geneseo remembers victims with memorial service

GENESEO – At a college known for developing teachers, they began trying to teach one of the hardest lessons of all on Wednesday night: How to go on with life after an unthinkable tragedy.

More than 3,500 people packed into the Kuhl Gymnasium at the State University at Geneseo to remember Webster Schroeder graduate Kelsey Annese, 21, and Matthew Hutchinson, 24, of Vancouver, British Columbia. The two student-athletes were murdered early Sunday, stabbed in the apartment where Annese lived a half block from campus. Geneseo Police say Annese’s ex-boyfriend, Colin Kingston, 24, of Geneseo, still upset over their breakup, killed them.

Coaches, faculty and peers spoke about Annese, a senior on the basketball team, and Hutchinson, a senior defenseman on the ice hockey team. The ceremony, in a dimly lighted gym with pictures of each victim flanking the podium, lasted nearly 90 minutes.

“None of this will be easy, nor should it be,” said basketball coach Scott Hemer, who made Annese a team captain this winter because of her dedication and commitment to the team even though she was only a backup guard. “But like our team, we must all work together to move forward — not because we should or can — but because we choose to. That’s what Kelsey would have wanted.”

Of course, there were sobs, as a small community still tries to recover from shock.

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“How could this happen at Geneseo?” asked Brad Campion, president of the student-athlete advisory committee. How could it happen in the “bubble,” in which the college community lives?

Loss of life, particularly at young ages, is “always sad,” said college President Denise A. Battles. “But in this case the lights extinguished in this tragedy are felt more keenly because each possessed a sparkling personality and zest for life that drew others two them.”

There was laughter, too, because that was a big part of how Annese, who wanted to be a teacher, and “Hutch,” lived. They were young people who’d made strong ties with the college community and beyond. Annese did her student teaching nearby at Livonia Elementary. Hutchinson wasn’t just a volunteer for the Geneseo Fire Department, he was cleared to perform any task required, be it putting out a blaze or using his emergency technician training to save a life.

The near-silence of the service was also interrupted with fleeting smiles when Campion revealed Annese’s love for frozen chocolate chip waffles, a treat she liked to cook for teammates after a basketball road trip.  And there were more laughs when David Robertson, associate professor for the geography department, talked about how Hutchinson was so well-known and well-versed with the way of Geneseo that he was “well on his way to becoming a townie.”

“Every graduating class has a few of these,” said Robertson, adding that his colleagues saw a glint in Hutchinson’s eye for learning and calling him a “quintessential western Canadian kid. He loved being in and learning about nature.

“Matt wasn’t on this way to doing important things. He was already doing them.”

Members of the education department also spoke of Annese’s desire to help others through teaching. One Livonia Elementary School third-grader, after learning of her passing, shared through one of the college professors that Annese was “Nice, sweet and beautiful.” Annese had student-taught there last semester.

"Kelsey's smile could light up a room," said Crystal Simmons, an assistant professor in the School of Education.

“She has taught our team to live life the right way,” Hemer said, calling her a great leader, role model, teammate and friend.

He spoke of Annese and Hutchinson’s fellow athletes, classmates and friends carrying on their legacies “by being dedicated toward achieving your dreams, by being selfless in all that you do, by being considerate to others whether you know them or not, by being passionate about your beliefs and by simply being an incredible human being.”

Geneseo Fire Chief Andrew Chanler said his two young sons idolized “Hutchy,” as a hockey player and firefighter. "If we could take away anything from all of this, it would be to live like Matt Hutchinson," he said. "Be positive, work hard and be kind to everyone."

He concluded, "We were lucky to have known Matt. We were fortunate to be part of a life well lived."

Hockey coach Chris Schultz said he and his staff told Hutchinson after his freshman year he’d need to be a team leader, and the player who didn’t start skating up in Canada until he was 9 years old answered the challenge.

“He was the poster, the symbol and the beacon of light that our entire community rallied around at our games,” Schultz said about a player who also was involved in the local youth hockey scene.

Schultz spoke of unbelievable grief over the past few days, felt by his coaching staff and players. A couple of nights ago, he needed to read the fourth verse of Psalm 23, the Good Shepherd psalm.

It reads, in part: “Even if I walk through the valley of darkness, I fear no evil for you are with me.”

A night later, senior defenseman and team captain Nate Brown texted his coach about the same passage and noted the psalm’s number: 23 — Hutchinson’s jersey number, which was the reverse of Annese’s No. 32.

“We will not back down from the fires. We will be at the front line,” Schultz said. “We will be hand in hand and we will face our fears together. That is simply what Hutch would want.”

A few of the most poignant moments arrived when Geneseo Dean of Students Leonard Sancilio read letters from Hutchinson and Annese’s families. Both thanked the community for their immense support.

“Our hearts go out to the other families involved in his tragedy,” wrote Ron and Krista Annese, who graduated from Geneseo in the mid-1980s. “For those of you that knew Matt and Kelsey, I am sorry for your loss. For those of you out there that didn’t know them, I’m even sorrier that you didn’t have the chance.”

Keith and Susan Hutchinson wrote that their son “loved Geneseo,” and would send photos of “beautiful sunsets.” Another memory brought more laughs. It was the one of their son “holding a beer keg over his head while wearing a Knights jersey.”

“I want to hear about that one when we come to see you all this weekend. We want to meet as many of you as we can when we arrive in town this weekend to pick up our beautiful little boy, hold him in our arms and bring him home.”

With that, there were more sobs.

Robert Bonfiglio, the college's vice president for campus life, spoke of Annese's and Hutchinson's outlook on life. "Let's live their legacy of ... joyful caring and joyful living,"

At the end of the service, the crowd held blue glow sticks and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was sung as the women's basketball team and the hockey teams began a memorial procession. After the conclusion of the song, the procession continued in near silence as student-athletes from all teams and the community walked high above the track and around the hockey rink.

“When we leave this place and move forward,” Battles said, “we will carry them in our hearts — always.”

JDIVERON@Gannett.com

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Services for Kelsey Annese

Services for Kelsey Annese will be Friday and Saturday.  

Friday: Calling hours will be from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Falvo Funeral Home, 1295 Fairport-Nine Mile Point Road, Webster. Two buses will take students from the Geneseo campus to the event.

Saturday: Funeral services will be 11 a.m. at the Webster United Church of Christ, 570 Klem Road, Webster. Two buses from Geneseo campus will take students to the event.

Services for Matthew Hutchinson have yet to be announced.

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