Leah Oliver, SEAS '98, grew up in small town Massachusetts,
attending Dartmouth High School where she excelled at softball,
basketball, and field hockey as well as serving on student council.
Oliver came to New York City in 1994 to attend Columbia, where,
during her senior year in 1998, she was elected class
representative to the Engineering Student Council.

Oliver remained close to her family after her move to New York,
often accompanying her father on the backseat of his motorcycle
as he rode through New Jersey on Sunday mornings. They
communicated through an intercom link in their helmets as they
cruised over the Garden State highways. "She was a terrific
passenger," said her father, Walter, of Glen Ridge, N.J.

Leah Oliver also enjoyed running, especially across the Brooklyn
Bridge near her home in Brooklyn Heights. With her new job at
professional services firm Marsh & McLennan and a new
boyfriend, she seemed to be "absolutely happy," said her aunt,
Amy Roberts of Neptune Beach, Fla.

Monsignor Avila of Oliver's home parish in Dartmouth spoke of
Oliver's caring as evident in her parish youth activities. "She was
someone committed to living, committed to loving. ... May the way
Leah lived her life inspire us all," he said.

In addition to her father and aunt, Oliver is survived by her mother,
Elizabeth Rego of North Dartmouth, Mass.; stepmother Lynne
Oliver of Glen Ridge; brothers Teddy and Danny of Glen Ridge and
Dale of North Dartmouth; sister, Janna Skinner of North
Dartmouth; and grandparents Walter and Gilda Oliver, also of
North Dartmouth.