U of A slaying victim Thomas Meixner remembered on shooting anniversary

During monsoons, when the rain pours onto the pavement and the sky booms with thunder, Christopher Castro is reminded of his former colleague Thomas Meixner.

The thunder of the monsoons recalls Meixner’s booming voice, which was often heard throughout the halls of the University of Arizona’s John W. Harshbarger Building, when Meixner was teaching students or joking around with coworkers.

“He cheerfully greeted the staff when he came to the office in the morning in a characteristic loud voice,” Castro remembered. “He took pride in the University of Arizona, and wore loud and colorful U of A shirts to prove the point.”

Castro, who is the interim head of the hydrology and atmospheric sciences department at the UA, was one of the speakers at the memorial remembering the life of Meixner, who was shot and killed on campus Oct. 5, 2022, allegedly by a former graduate student.

Castro spoke to a crowd of about 150 community members at the St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center on Thursday as they gathered to remember the life and impact of Meixner.

“The root of resilience is providing protection, care, support and comfort to one another as fellow human beings in community — family, the thing Tom valued most,” Castro said to the crowd. “It is the collective effort of all in our department family that propels us forward, working now through all the challenges in a process of recovery and renewal toward a brighter and hopeful future.”

It was fitting that while Castro spoke about his former colleague, sounds of running water echoed throughout the center. Meixner’s research focused on saving water resources of the Southwest, or as he reportedly described it, “making the world better through biogeochemistry.”

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As Castro read through his remarks, he also took a moment to call out the “plague” of gun violence in the United States.

“This event is yet another tragedy in our country, and the list of them goes on and on and on, year after year,” he said. “We cannot pretend we are immune to these horrors.”

Like others in his department, Castro has suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, which he spoke about at length.

“Maybe recovery isn’t even really the best word because that implies that somehow life goes back to being normal,” he said. “But it doesn’t. You realize life and your perceptions of the world around you have permanently changed. You yourself have changed.”

Finally, Castro told the crowd he hoped the community would start “living more like Tom,” by spreading “courage and love.”