Eppley embraced life, music

Garth Eppley never apologized for being himself. \n"He was really a passionate artist," his roommate and senior Jeff Gwaltney said. "Whenever he sang, he held nothing back."\nFriends described Eppley as a multifaceted, caring individual who was passionate about his faith and music.\nAnother of Eppley's roommates, Seth Hobson, said Eppley's passion for music could be heard in his voice.\n"It had a unique power to it," he said. "Garth put his whole body into it, singing with such passion. He was never apologetic about it or ashamed. He just let it right out."\nWhen four of Eppley's close friends gathered in his house to reflect on his life Sunday, they all agreed on the biggest lesson Eppley taught them.\n"You don't have to apologize for being yourself," master's student Austin Kness said. \nFriends said Eppley was the kind of guy who enjoyed being a ham on the dance floor, but also valued contemplative time alone or with God. \n"We talked a lot about spiritual things," Gwaltney said. "He would always say something that would make me think, and I thank God for that."\nGwaltney said Eppley especially liked to be alone with nature. \nAn avid traveler, Eppley liked to hop on his motorcycle and take off for a few days. His friends said some of his favorite places to visit were Vermont and Colorado. This summer, he planned to go to North Carolina.\nHobson said one of Eppley's favorite roads in Indiana was Highway 158 leading into Story, Ind. Eppley's friend, senior Jason Thomas, drove the road Sunday. \n"For me, it was a very spiritual moment," he said. "It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen."\nThough Eppley enjoyed time alone, he also liked being with his friends. \n"He always liked to have a good time," Gwaltney said. "It could be a serious time and you could always count on him to go have a beer and chew the fat. If Garth was around, you'd either be smiling or laughing."\nEppley's favorite watering hole in Bloomington was Nick's English Hut. His friends said he liked any good beer, and one of his favorites was Newcastle.\nWhen Eppley and his friends played trivia board games, he would always win. \n"Garth was smart enough that he could have done just about anything," Gwaltney said. "He was book savvy, and the things he knew, he knew well. He spoke with confidence."\nThomas said Eppley was a generous friend, and that he would do anything for his loved ones.\nHobson has been having car trouble lately, and he said Eppley would drive him around town or let him borrow his car if he needed it. \n"Everything that Garth owned also belonged to his friends," he said. "He was never covetous or greedy with his things."\n"Garth's spirit was unique, special and beautiful," Gwaltney said. "I will probably never meet a person like him, and I'll always remember him for the free spirit that he had. He was never tied down by anything."\nAs a tribute, Gwaltney and Hobson compiled a slideshow with photos of Eppley, set to the tune of James Taylor's "Fire and Rain." In nearly every photo, he was smiling, and when he wasn't, he was hamming for the camera.\n"We all believe that he's with God," Gwaltney said. "He was a spiritual person. He saw the beauty of life, and I have no doubt in my mind that he knew God in only a way that he could."\nGwaltney said Eppley loved all kinds of music, from rock 'n' roll to Finnish choral music. Recently, Eppley went to see My Morning Jacket in concert, one of his favorite bands.\nWhile he loved listening to all sorts of music, he enjoyed performing as well.\nHobson said Eppley didn't just read notes on a page. \n"He put in feeling, interpretation and personal meaning into everything he sang," Hobson said.\nMary Ann Hart, chair of the music department at the Jacobs School of Music, knew all five students in the plane.\n"Garth had a breakthrough year this year with his voice," she said. "He was a tenor -- that's probably the most fragile of all voice types, the most difficult to negotiate. He had just found his ringing clarion high notes." \nCarmen Helena Tellez, a professor of music in choral conducting, knew Eppley for about three years.\n"The quality of his voice was such that he promised to be a great operatic tenor," she said. "That kind of voice matures a little later. It tends to be a very large weighty voice, but his voice was still full of beauty, with the most beautiful color." \nAs a high school freshman, he traveled to New York City for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with high school teacher Susan Keefer and some of her other students.\n"We were waiting on the ferry to come, and some of the boys had taken a guitar along," she said. "He opened up the case and started singing along."\nShe said Eppley was surprised but happy when passers-by tossed money into their case. She remembers him saying, "I could have paid for my whole trip if I thought of this earlier." \nKatherine Geible was Eppley's high school drama director and said she first worked with him when he was a freshman. \n"He was this tall, skinny bundle of energy with a warm smile," she said. "He was friends with everybody"