Jeremy Saxe
Jeremy Saxe had recently returned from four months in Nepal and an internship in Washington, DC. Jeremy was attending his senior year as a philosophy major at Lafayette College where he maintained a 3.84 overall GPA. Jeremy was in the process of applying for a post-graduate Fulbright Scholarship to continue his studies in Nepal. While in Nepal each American student was given a Nepali name. Jeremy was dubbed Jiwan, which means Life. He was brimming with energy and vivaciousness.
In Nepal he studied and wrote about the effects of Buddhism on national development. During the summer, while serving as an intern at IRIS, he produced a paper entitled "The Role of NGOs in Promoting Development: A Case Study From Nepal". Jeremy was very aware of those who were less fortunate. From freshman year forward he acted as a volunteer for underprivileged children in Easton through the Kids in the Community Programs.
In his senior year in High School he had the honor of serving as Captain of three teams: Soccer, Skiing and Volleyball. He was voted MVP for all three sports. Jeremy loved competition and loved his friends: he was always a friendly competitor.
As a small child he played violin and swam and played soccer and baseball. At ten years old, Jeremy made the CT All Star Swim Team and traveled to Maryland where he medaled at the Eastern Regional Zones meet in Maryland. During those years, Jeremy was a starting player for travel soccer and Orange All Star baseball. As luck would have it, he often had the opportunity to pitch the critical championship games. He felt fortunate and loved the intensity of these games and played with 100% focus. Throughout his youth and until the day he died, he loved all types of sports. He continued to play sports daily with his friends including basketball, squash, soccer, volleyball, and golf while in college.
Jeremy, from grade school through college, even when serious or competitive about any endeavor, while enjoying the intensity and focus, was always full of life. His grade school classmates and college friends all remember him as playful. Jeremy in all respects was open-minded, curious and interested in so many things. He was an avid and eclectic music fan and loved good films, whether intense or silly. He loved his philosophy studies because it was so natural for him. He seemed to live by a personal philosophy of question everything and assume nothing. His friends will tell you that although he loved a good intellectual argument, he could always see their point of view, even when arguing very effectively against it.
He was fascinated by Buddhist teachings which he said encouraged the process of questioning assumptions. Jeremy was always actively pushing himself to the next level through hard work and determination. Jeremy died in his sleep on Thursday, September 4, 2008. Jeremy has friends from coast to coast and around the world; from Orange to Nepal. All will miss him deeply.
Celebrate Jeremy's tragically short, but exuberantly lived, life by joining the foundation that will fulfill his dream to bring educational opportunities to the children of Nepal. Contributions in Jeremy's memory may be directed to: Jiwanko Satthihara: Jeremy Saxe Foundation for Education and Development c/o Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C., 1952 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT 06517