University student Ben Hornstein’s family flew from Virginia this week to meet his friends at the University for the first time and put faces to the beautiful words they received in e-mails and phone calls after Hornstein’s death, his family members said.
“It’s a gift to hear your stories,” said Don Hornstein, Ben’s father.
Hornstein, 19, died instantly in a car accident Jan. 30 while driving through Tennessee on his way back to Eugene.
About 50 friends gathered in Carson Hall Tuesday with the Hornstein family and shared stories about Hornstein’s first and only year at the University.
Friends and family said Hornstein always went out of his way for others and shared whatever he had, even in death.
Hornstein was an organ donor, and after he died, Hornstein’s bones, ligaments, skin and corneas were recovered from the accident and given to people in need. A 27-year-old man in Tennessee received one of his corneas and wrote a thank-you note to the family saying when his daughter was born, he would be able to see her because of Hornstein’s gift, Mandy Tatum, one of Hornstein’s three sisters, said.
He had taken fall and winter terms off after his freshman year to decide what he wanted to do in life, his parents said.
Hornstein tossed around the idea of studying in Germany or transferring to a different university in Virginia, but he decided to come back to the University, his family said.
“He had the chance to go anywhere in the world and he chose here,” said Tatum. “He chose you guys.”

“I just remembered he’d always come to me to talk about his far-out theories and ideas about life and what college is and what is he doing,” University student Ben Brayfield said. “I’d always just listen to him like, ‘I understand but I have no idea what you’re saying.’ He’s just, like, so far ahead.”
“He just really surprised me a lot with his intellect and just his concepts of life and how he questioned everything,” Brayfield said.
“He was always asking questions,” said Beverly Hornstein, his mother. “Why is it this way, why are we here, why does it haveto be that way. He questioned everything.”
Friends took turns sharing memories of Hornstein, and many of the stories focused on his humor, kindness and inquisitiveness.
Several people spoke about Hornstein’s avid reading and dedication to learning.
Hornstein was drawn to philosophical texts ranging from his own Judaic background to Sophocles to Indian spirituality, but he also read about horticulture, stocks and organic health remedies.
For most of his life, Hornstein’s intellectual curiosity outpaced his schools, and Hornstein didn’t do as well in school as he would have liked because he felt bored by many of the lower-division courses he took freshman year, his family said. Hornstein also embraced the college party scene and enjoyed drinking and smoking with friends, his family and friends said. “He knew life was more than just what you read in books and what you’re taught in school,”
Beverly Hornstein said. “There’s a lot more out there and he really wanted to get out there and experience it.”
“He was so trusting. He had a natural inclination to be trusting of everyone in every situation, and that’s what I worried about as his mother,” Beverly Hornstein said. “It’s just who he was.”
Hornstein’s close friend and roommate, Tristan Keady, thanked the Hornsteins for coming to the University and meeting Hornstein’s friends.
“I know it’s good for you guys to come out here and see this, and we’re so happy you guys could because, at least for me, it really helps me kinda say goodbye to Ben through you,” Keady said. “We were just like waiting out here for him and he never showed up.
“I remember the first night we all knew about it and everybody was at my house. We all kind of had this different look on their face,” Keady said. “I don’t think anybody here is ever going to forget about Ben.”

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