I provided prenatal care and delivered Ross with his father assisting twenty years ago, it was truly a joyous moment, what a terrible tragedy, my heart goes out to his parents.

Ross was my son's best friend since first grade. Even though Ross and Peter went to different high schools and colleges, they stayed in touch daily, often playing online games "together." Ross was at our house so much that I called him Son Two (or Son Too), and he called me Mom Thing. The two boys always let Peter's younger sister hang out with them, and Ross was especially sweet to Mary. Peter's birthday is the day before Ross', so they often celebrated together. The two boys had the same quick wit and loved to play with words. Ross brought a lot of laughter to our lives. I will miss his "virtual" hugs.

No words can begin to explain how much Ross will be missed. For myself and many others in my high school class of '05 from Austin Prep it is hard to grasp the tragedy that occurred on Monday. Ross was an outstanding student and a great friend. With his unforgettable sense of humor and character Ross was loved by everyone. He will be greatly missed and will always in our prayers.... you'll never be forgotten

Ross truly was an amazing kid. I first met Ross when we became partners in a calculus class to do these crazy weekly assignments (MATLAB). I struggled in the class and could barely get through any of it. Week in and week out Ross would bring his hilarious sarcasm and vast knowledge to the table, which allowed our group to excel. Ross, you were an amazing human being and you will live on forever.

I only had class with Ross this past semester and he really stood out and immediately became close with everyone in the room. The class was english and he had it right after his french class. On the way, he would stop at ABP and pick up a hot chocolate for his friend in the class and it seemed the most selfless thing to me because at college, your social status depends on the amount of money you have on your meal plan ;-) and to sacrifice some money every morning just to make someone else happy shows the kind of guy he was. He often made the comments in class that were jovial and break any serious or boring discussion -- he was sort of a fun-loving class clown who also happened to be incredibly intelligent. I remember him often quoting the movie "The Big Lebowski" and that always brought a smile not just to his face, but every student in the room. My heart goes out to his family and friends and I hope they can learn how truly wonderful and impressive of a man Ross was.

My son, Allen Wilson, is also an English major at Virginia Tech. Ross was in his editing class. Allen transferred to Tech last semester. He told me that Ross was the first person who talked to him. They were sitting in class and Ross turned around and starting talking to Allen. That made Allen feel welcome and not so much "the odd man out" as most of the other students were acclimated to Tech and many knew each other from other English classes.

Allen received a poor grade on his first assignments in the class, for my brilliant son this was a shock and concern. Ross helped him with a couple of assignments and that also made Allen feel welcome and comfortable.

Thank you Ross, I'm grateful that you made my son feel welcome. I'm glad you were the kind of person to reach out and make a friend. I'm glad my son knew you.

I only went to high school with Ross for two years before we moved. We had 10th grade chemistry together, among other things, such as shooting the breeze before classes and at lunch. He'd always make class enjoyable with his humor, which even the teacher would acknowledge. There wasn't a mean bone in his body. He was one of the nicest, wittiest people you'll ever know. What strikes out most about him is that his Facebook status will always let people know how selfless he was. His last day started wishing one of his friends a happy birthday. He will be truly missed by all.

Ross was a person with much character. I was his suitemate for a year when he lived in Cochrane Hall. Everyday when I got back from my classes, I would pop my head into his room and see what he was up to. We would occasionally talk about different things ranging from religion to politics; there really was no subject that was considered taboo. He was also an avid PC gamer and loved to play them. He was also a rollerblader and would talk about the landscape of Virginia Tech when he traveled to his classes. I will definitely treasure the year that I spent with him as his suitemate and I'll miss him very dearly.