SU mourns the death of 2 students, faculty member

John Woods
John Woods, a systems analyst in Information Systems and former director of Southern University’s Alumni Federation, died on August 27 of a massive heart attack. He was 48.
“We were joking at the copy machine yesterday. I had the paper stuck and he helped me fix it,” said Emma Miller, a co-worker of Woods in Information Systems. “He’s going to be greatly missed It’s going to be hard to work without him but it’s going to be impossible too replace him. He was one of a kind.”
According to the Alumni Federation, John Woods joined Southern University as executive director of the SU Alumni Federation in July 1996 as the result of a national search committee.
He left behind two children and two grandchildren.
Sgt. Hampton Patrick Darensbourg
Men’s track and field member Sgt. Hampton Patrick Darensbourg died in a motorcycle accident on his 21st birthday, May 30.
The accident happened shortly after his return from a lengthy military stay in Afghanistan.
Darensbourg, A native of Baton Rouge and secondary education major, participated on the 2002 Men’s cross country and track and field teams as well as served in the Louisiana National Guard 769th Engineering Battalion.
“Hampton was a person that you could get along with, he was great to know. He was just a fun person,” said Jeff Mack, a senior engineering major from Baton Rouge and former teammate.
Track and field Coach Johnny Thomas and the track teams are dedicating the Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor seasons in the memory of their fallen teammate.
“We are doing this because of his dedication to the team,” Thomas said.
Thomas said during his stay in Afghanistan, Darensbourg kept in touch with the team the entire time. The day he returned, after talking to his parents, he came right to SU to check his eligibility.
“He was a very, very, very valuable member of our long distance team,” Thomas said. ” He didn’t get a chance to participate in cross-country but by outdoors he had caught up with every one. We will recognize him every time before we run.”
Andrew Louis “Andy” Leon, Jr.
Andrew Louis “Andy” Leon, Jr., a senior criminal justice major from New Orleans disappeared while whitewater rafting on Kaweah River in California on May 29. A local river rafting company found his body a week later. He was 22.
Leon was working as a wildland firefighter for a national park in Three Rivers, Calif. before his death.
“When I heard the news I thought, this can’t be…not Andy,” said close friend Jerry Galathe a junior computer science major from New Orleans. “He will be missed by all that knew him.”

John Woods