Bryan mourns Meaghan R. Jones

Junior Meaghan Jones at a CLF retreat during the spring 2011 semester / Photo courtesy of Lana Douglas

Triangle Team Coverage

Late last night students gathered outside dorms and in lounges across campusspreading word, prayers and tears when news came that junior Meaghan R. Jones had died.

Jones, who was a commuter student living with her parents in Chattanooga, had been feeling ill for the last several days, according to her father, Pat Jones. At about 10 p.m. last night, she became extremely weak, pale and dizzy.

“[Jones and] her parents were en route to a [Chattanooga] hospital when she stopped breathing and could not be revived,” Bryan President Dr. Stephen Livesay wrote in an email to the Bryan community this morning.

Shortly before midnight, Meaghan went to be with the Lord, her father said.

“She collapsed and stopped breathing,” he said, “apparently suffering a pulmonary embolism that claimed her life almost instantly. All efforts were made by EMS and the hospital to revive her to no avail.”

“A pulmonary embolism can occur in otherwise healthy people,” according to the Mayo Clinic Online

It is the second most common cause of sudden death, following cardiac arrest. It occurs when a blood clot traveling from another part of the body, most commonly the legs, rests in the lung arteries.

Junior Meaghan Jones at a CLF retreat during the spring 2011 semester / Photo courtesy of Lana Douglas

Three dozen students gathered in Long Dorm Lounge at about 12:30 this morning to mourn and pray as other students met elsewhere to do the same.

In the impromptu gatherings for prayer, not only the upperclassmen who knew Jones came together, but freshmen stood in the doorway, silent and still.

“Whether you know somebody or not, it affects you,” said Matt Williams, resident director for Long.

In the early morning, Williams’ door was open and the light turned on. He said he wanted to be available to help anyone through the grieving process.

Even though Williams did not personally know Jones, the news sobered him. “It frames things very distinctly for us that we are not in control,” he said.

Quiet breathing and downcast eyes filled the lounge in Long interrupted by sniffling and people sharing their memories of her life and personality.

Students took turns thanking God for the lives that Meaghan touched, asking comfort for her friends and family, and asking God to work through the loss of Meaghan in the Bryan community. Many prayers thanked God for Meaghan’s faith and the peace she will experience by his side.

Meaghan was a Communication Studies major with a political communications option. She leaves behind her brother, Josh Jones, who also attended Bryan, as well as two younger brothers, Colyn and Seth, her parents, extended family and friends.

An on-campus memorial gathering will be held tonight at 7:30 in the Grassy Bowl. Students are also planning to pray for the Jones family at 11:30 tonight in Long Lounge.

Students needing counsel and comfort can meet with college counselors Jonathan Doran or Kauri Tallant in the Office of Soul Care on the third floor of the Latimer Student Center.