Baker University student who drowned fondly remembered

Tyler Jeck

Members of the Baker University community remembered Tyler Jeck as a motivated and bright student whose positive attitude lifted those around him in classrooms and on the baseball diamond.

The 19-year-old Baker University student’s body was found Tuesday in about 90 feet of water at Beaver Lake after a weekend boating accident in northwest Arkansas, according to Benton County authorities.

Witnesses told investigators that Jeck jumped from a boat into the lake Saturday afternoon to cool off and never resurfaced.

Phil Hannon, the school’s baseball coach, said he had all his players write down words that reminded them of the freshman outfielder. Determined, one said. Funny, persistent, loyalty, friendship, said others.

“It hit me hard,” Hannon said. “But with the support of the Baker University staff and players, it’s really been helpful.”

Darcy Russell, a Baker professor of biology, spoke at a reflection at the school’s chapel in Jeck’s honor. She said he was focused on his goal of becoming a doctor, a career at which he would have succeeded, she said.

He was a positive spirit, Russell said, and made everyone around him happier.

“When you teach an 8:30 class for teenagers, not all of them are present at every moment,” she said. “That was not true of Tyler, he was always alert, always present.”