Published 2012-08-28T18:38:00Z”/>

Pedro Quintana

Friends and family members held services this weekend to honor the life of a Chico State student who died this summer in his hometown of Paso Robles.

Senior art major Samuel McNairn was driving home from a party about 2:30 a.m. Aug. 15, when he lost control of his car, said Eli Mena, a longtime friend of McNairn.

The driver’s side of McNairn’s Toyota Camry struck a large tree, causing fatal injuries to McNairn, according to a press release by the California Highway Patrol.

Duston Rose, a friend of McNairn and a Chico State grad, heard the news and decided to organize a candlelight vigil in his memory, he said.

Friends who put on the vigil also ordered purple bracelets with a quote that read, “Smile, life is funny,” in memory of McNairn, Rose said.

McNairn was extremely energetic and participated in disc golf along with river floating, Rose said.

“Sam was full of life,” he said.

One word couldn’t express McNairn as a person, Mena said. He loved everyone and didn’t carry any grudges.

Classmates in the art department remember McNairn’s bright personality, art major Amanda Rainville said.

“He kept to himself, but when it came down to projects he would shine with his awesome ideas of artwork,” Rainville said.

All of NcNairn’s Chico State friends gathered at a residence dubbed “the chalk house” at 10th and Chestnut streets for a candle-lighting ceremony Saturday, said Danielle Jones, a Butte College student and friend of McNairn.

The chalk house was a gathering place for McNairn’s friends, who would often come over and sketch murals and other pictures to celebrate first visits and special occasions like birthdays, Jones said.

“It was a huge coming together, and the chalk house was where we became friends,” she said.

On Sunday, some of McNairn’s friends gathered to get matching tattoos bearing the legend, “Smile, life is funny,” to commemorate their friend’s catchphrase.

Jones remembers McNairn as a spontaneous, funny friend who would buy her favorite ice cream when she was sad, she said.

“He just always knew when I was upset and was very intuitive,” Jones said.

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<strong>Pedro Quintana can be reached at</strong> <a href=”mailto:[email protected]”><em>[email protected]</em></a>