JEFFREY RYAN TERR
Jeffrey Ryan Terr, an honor student at UNM and beloved friend of many, passed away accidentally on December 17, 2017, as he was enjoying one of his favorite modes of relaxation --- soaking in the hot springs near Las Vegas, New Mexico. He had earned the right to relax as he had been exceptionally busy for months completing his course work at UNM for his degree in biology and biochemistry and applying for admission into various prestigious graduate degree programs across the country in environmental science. He was maintaining a grade point average of over 4.0 while holding down two jobs and tutoring and mentoring other students.
Born August 16, 1982, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Lewis Terr and Christine Avril Ryan, Jeffrey attended Shady Hill School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Northfield Mount Herman School in Northfield, Massachusetts, before graduating from Amherst High School in Amherst. Although Jeffrey always displayed an intense interest in nature and science, he was considered a nonconventional student, as he came late to his college education, starting at Central New Mexico College before transferring to UNM.
Jeffrey will be remembered by his friends and family for his big smile, hearty laugh, big voice, and hearty hugs, which he dispensed freely and warmly. He not only believed in living peacefully on the earth in harmony with nature, he also practiced his beliefs, always choosing to ride a bike rather than drive a car whenever possible and growing his own vegetables to eat and share with others.
Jeffrey enjoyed snowboarding off-trail, thinking outside the box, and generally exploring and testing the limits of physical endurance and human consciousness. His recent years were devoted to his studies in chemistry, biology, and environmentalism which he pursued with the passion he displayed in everything he did.
Jeffrey was preceded in death by his mother, Christine Ryan Terr in 2001 and is survived by his father, Lewis, brother Damon of Seattle, Washington, sister Kelly and her husband Mike Sweeney of Portland, Maine, as well as his paternal family from Las Vegas, New Mexico, and maternal Ryan family from Great Britain, as well as many friends from across the country.
Jeffrey was laid to rest by family and friends in a ceremony of love on December 23 in the Montefiore Cemetery in Las Vegas.
Anyone wishing to honor Jeffrey’s memory and vision for a better world is encouraged to contribute to the "Jeffrey Terr Environmental Scholarship Fund" at First National 1870 Bank (First National1870.com). The Fund will be transfered to the University of New Mexico to assist promising students of environmental science achieve Jeffrey’s goal of sustaining our planet.