Sat, August 26, 2006
A
local academic whose mysterious disappearance captivated Edmontonians
until his body was found in the North Saskatchewan River Tuesday will
be forever immortalized by a University of Toronto scholarship
established in his name.
In a letter to the UofT Mathematics Department, Chair John
Bland called Robert Barrington Leigh, 20, “an exceptional student” who
was “shy and modest, despite his enormous abilities.”
The student was visiting his family in Edmonton when he
disappeared Aug. 13. His body was recovered Tuesday and his death ruled
non-criminal.
Barrington Leigh was to enter his fourth year of math and
physics studies at the UofT this fall, and was already taking
graduate-level courses by his second year. He’d won top awards there, and at several international math
competitions. Bland expected him to pursue graduate studies at a top
university, “and to have a brilliant career.”
A memorial for Barrington Leigh will take place in Toronto Sunday at the Duke of Gloucester pub on Yonge Street.
Sunday in Edmonton, Barrington Leigh’s family will host a
private gathering for their son’s friends and family at 1 p.m. at the
Strathcona Community Centre at 10139-87 Ave.
Next story: Grieving for the fallen
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