“When something happens to one of us, it happens to all of us,” said Tom Hill, vice president of student affairs.

The ISU community celebrated the life of Jon Lacina by planting a red oak tree in his honor on the north side of the College of Design’s King Pavilion Thursday.

More than 125 people listened as Jon’s family, friends and ISU faculty remembered Jon’s life. Jon’s mother, Alesia; father, Tom; and brother, Joe, attended the ceremony.

“I think I speak for everyone here in saying we had been hoping and waiting and searching along with you ever since January, and now we join you in missing Jon and grieving this tremendous loss,” Hill said.

Tom spoke of Jon’s deep connection with his family and artistic talent that spanned platforms.

“Jon spent a lot of evenings improvising guitar music for his parents,” Tom said. “He would often lull me to sleep with the blues, only to wake me up with some rock and roll.”

He said Jon felt at home at Iowa State, where he was enthusiastically working to improve as an artist.

“Jon had a significant passion for art, continually working to improve his drawing skills,” Tom said. “He was particularly fascinated with design and use of computers in illustration and design. This love of art is what led him to ISU in 2007, and that’s where you all picked up his story.”

Parker Peterson, Jon’s close friend and junior in graphic design, tearfully spoke on behalf of Jon’s friends at Iowa State.

“He was not only an amazing friend, but a talented artist,” Peterson said.

Jon affected the lives of his friends, their families and the entire ISU community, Peterson said. “He will forever be an inspiration to us.”

After giving his speech, Peterson embraced the parents of his close friend.

With the help of ISU administrators, including ISU President Gregory Geoffroy, Alesia, Tom and Joe placed the young tree into a pre-dug hole. After the Lacinas shoveled soil onto the base of the tree, they handed the shovels off to more than 40 of Jon’s friends and classmates who took turns helping to plant the tree.

College of Design Dean Luis Rico-Gutierrez said the loss of Jon caused him to remember another artist “who also died very young.” In the early 1900s, Federico Garcia Lorca wrote:

“Every song is the quiet remainder of love;

Every light, the quiet reminder of time.

A knot of time.

And every sigh the quiet reminder of a cry.”

Rico-Gutierrez said, “From now on, I hope, we all hope, that this tree will become a quiet reminder of Jon’s passion, his love for his family and his friendship.”

One of Jon’s art and design professors, Paul Bruski, said Jon was a skilled artist with a quirky sense of humor.

“Each day in class he would quietly go about his work, guided by his intuitive sense of design,” Bruski said. “We will all remember his bright friendly smile, and we are all honored to have worked with him as his instructors.”

Tom thanked Jon’s friends and Iowa State for their kindness to the Lacina family.

“Please go forward from here and enjoy your memories of Jon,” Tom said. “Live life fully. That’s what Jon would want.”