{"id":250477,"date":"2026-04-15T05:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T05:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/250477\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T05:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T05:29:10","slug":"bobcat-pause-honors-lives-lost-in-texas-state-community-the-university-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/250477\/","title":{"rendered":"Bobcat Pause honors lives lost in Texas State community \u2013 The University Star"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Texas State professor Kymberly J. Fox\u2019s table at the Texas State Pause event, Monday, April 13, 2026, at LBJ Ballroom. The Texas State Pause event is an annual event held to commemorate former Texas State students and professors who have passed away.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Bobcat<\/p>\n

Former Texas State professor Kenneth H. Margerison Jr.\u2019s table at the Texas State Pause event, Monday, April 13, 2026, at LBJ Ballroom. The Texas State Pause event is an annual event held to commemorate former Texas State students and professors who have passed away.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Bobcat<\/p>\n

A patron of the Texas State Pause event takes a picture at the memorial table of Loyd S. Wright, Monday, April 13, 2026, at LBJ Ballroom. The Texas State Pause event is an annual event held to commemorate former Texas State students and professors who have passed away.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Bobcat<\/p>\n

The memorial of former Texas State student Kiary Espino displays her positive pickle collection at Texas State Pause, Monday, April 13, 2026, at LBJ Ballroom. The Texas State Pause event is an annual event held to commemorate former Texas State students and professors who have passed away.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Bobcat<\/p>\n

Former Texas State student Jacob Preston\u2019s table at the Texas State Pause event, Monday, April 13, 2026, at LBJ Ballroom. The Texas State Pause event is an annual event held to commemorate former Texas State students and professors who have passed away.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Bobcat<\/p>\n

Former Texas State professor Kenneth H. Margerison Jr.\u2019s table at the Texas State Pause event, Monday, April 13, 2026, at LBJ Ballroom. The Texas State Pause event is an annual event held to commemorate former Texas State students and professors who have passed away.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Bobcat<\/p>\n

Texas State President Kelly Damphousse looks at the memorial tables at the Texas State Pause event, Monday, April 13, 2026, at LBJ Ballroom. The Texas State Pause event is an annual event held to commemorate former Texas State students and professors who have passed away.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Bobcat<\/p>\n

Students, families and faculty gathered for Bobcat Pause to honor Bobcats who have passed on Monday, April 13, in the LBJ Ballroom.<\/p>\n

Bobcat Pause is an\u00a0annual<\/a>\u00a0memorial ceremony where the university recognizes students, faculty and staff who passed away over the past year. For many attending, Bobcat Pause serves as more than a remembrance but a moment to reflect on the lives behind the names.<\/p>\n

VocaLibre, the student choir, sang \u201cNever Alone\u201d to start the ceremony, with memorial tables displaying photos and personal items throughout the room. Abby Myers, student government president and psychology senior, read aloud the names of those passed to honor them.<\/p>\n

Myers said it is important to honor Bobcats who have passed because they are remembered for their lasting impact on the community they are part of.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think because it shows us how valuable this community is,\u201d Myers said. \u201cBecause not only are we invested in a student while you go here, but if you also pass away, you\u2019re still apart of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The memorial opened to the campus community at 5 p.m. and the ceremony started at 5:30 p.m., however, families were invited to arrive before the ceremony started to create personal tributes for their loved ones, displaying photos and meaningful items on tables.<\/p>\n

Valerie L. Holmes, associate vice president for student success and dean of students welcomed guests and Texas State President Kelly Damphousse offered words of comfort throughout the ceremony.<\/p>\n

Myers said Bobcat Pause is important to her, even though she didn\u2019t personally know those being honored.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shows us how valuable this community is,\u201d Myers said. \u201cEven if faculty or students leave or pass away, they\u2019re still a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students come to the event to reflect on the meaning of community, to recognize the lives that helped shape the university and highlights how each person at Texas State leaves an impact on the university community, Myers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not just this number here at Texas State. You are a person, an individual who had a whole story and a whole life,\u201d Myers said.<\/p>\n

Lloyd Wright, who taught graduate students in psychology and special education at Texas State for 30 years was being honored. His wife, Nina Wright said the event allows colleagues, friends, students and all the people who knew her husband throughout his career to share their memories with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one was especially meaningful, because two of his colleagues that I knew for so long also passed during the last year,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n

Wright said the ceremony highlights the lasting connections formed during her husband\u2019s decades at the university.<\/p>\n

At the end of the ceremony, Wright said she hopes her husband is remembered for the impact he had on others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope they remember the good things he did for them,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n

Denisa Smart, former dean of McCoy College of Business, said she has attended multiple Bobcat Pause ceremonies and views the event as one of the university\u2019s strongest traditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew a lot of the people that had passed away. So, it\u2019s good to take a moment and reflect,\u201d Smart said. \u201cWe stop, and we reflect on how meaningful it is for us all to be Bobcats in some fashion, and it brings out the humanity in all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smart said the ceremony reflects the humanity within the university community and allows people to come together for a moment of reflection, regardless of their role or connection to those being honored.<\/p>\n

As the ceremony concluded, families and guests remained in the ballroom, embracing one another and revisiting memorial tables before quietly departing.<\/p>\n

A full list of those honored, along with details about the memorial service, can be found on the university\u2019s\u00a0Bobcat Pause<\/a>\u00a0website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Texas State professor Kymberly J. Fox\u2019s table at the Texas State Pause event, Monday, April 13, 2026,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250478,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-250477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}