Maurer killed in Buffalo plane crash

Correction appended

Lorin Maurer, whose vitality and enthusiasm touched the hearts of all who knew her, was killed when Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed near Buffalo, N.Y., on Thursday night. She was 30 years old.

Maurer, the athletic friends manager for the Department of Athletics and the Office of Development at the University, was on her way to her boyfriend’s brother’s wedding when her plane crashed in a Buffalo suburb six miles from the city’s airport, The Buffalo News reported Friday. The plane was carrying 44 passengers, a four-person crew and an off-duty airline employee on a flight from Newark, N.J. Everyone on board and one person on the ground were killed.

Maurer’s friends and colleagues said they were stunned and devastated by the news.

“I think shock is probably the first [reaction],” friend and colleague Kellie Staples, associate director for Princeton Varsity Club, said. “You sort of move to feeling angry and upset, and then it’s just a terrible sense of sadness and a sense of loss.”

The crash broke through the distance that typically separates people from televised tragedies, Director of Athletics Gary Walters ’67 said. “In a way, we sort of become desensitized or anesthetized to it,” Walters noted. “When a tragedy like this strikes home, boy does it pierce that veneer. We’re all grieving in our own way.”

“All I can say is that the extent of the grieving is commensurate with the positive impact that she had on the people that she worked with,” Walters added.

Though a few words cannot encapsulate Maurer’s life, she left an indelible mark on the lives of those around her, those who knew her said. Friends and colleagues said they remember her as a genuine, caring person who fully invested in all areas of her life, professional as well as personal.

“The thing about Lorin that was just so wonderful was that she genuinely got fulfillment out of making other people happy,” Staples said. “She was extremely thoughtful and would do all the little things to make you feel happy and make you feel good.”

Maurer graduated from Rowan University in 2001 with a degree in health and exercise science. While serving as captain of the school’s swim team, she was named Most Valuable Swimmer four times and was a three-time Academic All-American in women’s swimming. She completed her master’s degree in sports management at the University of Florida.

She then worked at the Mountain West Conference marketing department during the 2004-05 season. In June 2005, Maurer came to Princeton to assume a newly created position involving work with the Office of Development and the Department of Athletics.

Maurer’s passion for intercollegiate athletics was reflected in the devotion she put into her job on an everyday basis, colleagues said.

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Maurer “was extremely talented, extremely professional [and] very dedicated to doing all that she could to make the Princeton experience as good as it could possibly be for Princeton student athletes,” University Vice President for Development Brian McDonald ’83 said.

Maurer went above and beyond the call of duty in her job, McDonald added, as an avid fan and a dedicated professional.

“I think my favorite memories of her are when I saw her helping little kids to get on the ice at Baker Rink or throwing T-shirts in the stands or making sure before a football game that the young kids were having fun,” McDonald noted.

“She didn’t have to do that: That wasn’t a part of the job,” he added. “It’s just something she wanted to do, and she did it with a smile.”

Though people often think of coaches’ roles in shaping the lives of student athletes, people like Maurer also play a pivotal role, McDonald said. He noted, “The work that the coaches do and the opportunities that the student athletes have simply wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of people like Lorin, who toil … usually out of the limelight, day in and day out, putting in 12-hour days, working weekends … because they care so much about the student-athlete experience and about Princeton.”

Others said that Maurer will be missed not only as a coworker, but also as a genuine and caring friend.

“We had these great conversations, whether on road trips together [or] at her apartment over dinner,” Staples said. “I will always remember that she was that person I could talk to about just about anything.”

Associate Director of Leadership Gifts Rob Allen, who was also Maurer’s roommate, recalled Maurer’s dedication to those around her. “Her capacity for caring about people was just limitless,” he said. “She really, truly cared about and was involved in the lives of her friends and family.”

Walters characterized Maurer as “a quintessential connector.”

“She had an infectious smile [and] friendliness that enabled her to develop strong friendships wherever she worked,” he said. “Her reach has always exceeded her grasp,” he added, noting, “Wherever Lorin’s been, she’s made friends.”

Allen also praised Maurer’s “very strong sense of justice and fairness,” adding, “Her integrity was beyond belief.”

Maurer took pains to maintain the relationships she established, said Associate Commissioner for Marketing at the Mountain West Conference Dan Butterly, who initially hired Maurer to work there.

He said that on Friday he received a handwritten note from Maurer thanking Butterly for securing her tickets to watch her alma mater Florida play in the Bowl Championship Series game.

“Usually I’d see her at the Final Four or the NACDA [National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics convention] in June,” Butterly explained. “Even if I was only there for a couple of hours, somehow, some way, I’d see Lorin.”

It is difficult to understand Maurer’s death, Walters said. “To see somebody with such a bright future both from the standpoint of her professional life and her personal life, and to have that erased at such a young age, just … isn’t fair,” he added.

Maurer won’t be forgotten, though, McDonald said. “Lorin’s is a life worth remembering and celebrating.”

Correction

An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of Dan Butterly and indicated that the tickets he gave Maurer were for a Final Four game when, in fact, they were for the Bowl Championship Series.