By Morgan Boling, Elise Miller and Keaton Ross
History student. Pool, basketball and campus golf player. Devoted Christian and friend.
These are just a handful of the roles Isaac Neff played during his time at Oklahoma Christian University, according to those who knew him well. Neff, a sophomore from College Station, TX, was found dead Thursday, Jan. 23, in his Fails dorm room.
Neff was involved on campus as a residence assistant and a member of Kappa Sigma Tau. He was also active within the college ministry at the Memorial Road Church of Christ.
Senior and Kappa president Austin Peace described Neff as a thoughtful, quirky person who always acted in and spoke with love. The two would often read the Bible together and discuss verses in depth.
“Whenever we would talk, he would always have a really upbeat attitude to himself,” Peace said. “You could tell he genuinely cared about the conversation you were having, whether it was as stupid as just talking about pool or basketball, or something as deep as having a real biblical conversation.”
Neff not only talked about basketball—he backed it up on the court. Several Kappa members said Neff was the best player on the floor when they played pickup.
“I remember going to the Nest with him with some guys from Kappa, and he was literally scoring on everyone with his post-up game,” junior Clay Roesler said. “One time he did this skyhook shot, and I just looked at him, and he shrugged his shoulders walking back down the court.”
Neff would often be found in the student center or the Fails dorm lobby playing pool, both with his friends and people he barely knew. Junior Logan Engle said his favorite memory of Neff was playing pool in the student center one night until four in the morning.
“We kept talking and playing another game,” Engle said. “He would win as usual, but when I got one win, it was pretty great. We also talked about God and how we view different Scriptures in the Bible. It was great to have those conversations with someone who was as interested as you. He was more than a friend; he was family. He will forever be with me and deeply missed.”
Senior Jace Logan, another friend of Neff, said he would often bond with friends and build new relationships over a game of pool.
“That was kind of his mission work,” Logan said. “We always talk about Christians going out and doing mission work and talking to people around the world. That was Isaac’s way—you come up and play a game of pool with him, you learn a lot about that guy just from playing one game of pool with him and you build a friendship.”
Seth Vaz is one person Neff built a friendship with over a game of pool. The two continued to hang out after this game, often going on runs together and having deep conversations.
“The first time I met Isaac was like everyone else: playing pool,” Vaz said. “And I remember he was the type of person when you first meet him he was a little bit confidential—not wanting to let too much information out—but once you got to know him and you earned his trust, he would start to be more personal with you.”
Neff was competitive, always wanting to be the best in basketball or pool or whatever activity he participated in, his friends said. One more unconventional sport Neff grew to love was campus golf, where the goal is to hit a tennis ball with a golf club onto a certain building or area of a college campus.
“After we joined Kappa, we played a game of campus golf,” friend, sophomore Jake Warren said. “After that, he always wanted to play. We went to Goodwill got some golf clubs, and we started playing almost every day. At the beginning of it, he would always get out his phone, get on YouTube and look up professionals to see how they play. There was one time he was practicing hitting, and he wanted me to record it and I recorded like five other ones until he got it good.”
Both current Kappa members and alumni gathered Friday, Jan. 24, to sing worship songs and share memories of Neff. It was not a traditional time of grieving, according to Peace, but rather a time to remember Neff and become closer as a club.
“We knew there were five or six guys that were really, really hurt,” Peace said. “So it was a time to really encourage them and a time for the club as a whole to know and recognize that they have a brotherhood behind them. Every club has their own groups and stuff, but it was a time to say, ‘We are together on this,’ and we want everybody here to know that no matter how little or small something in your life is that we are there for you.”
In Kappa, Neff was known as a joyful person who was always quick to listen and love. The same was true at Memorial Road Church of Christ.
“You couldn’t not smile when you were around him,” Memorial Road campus minister Jay Mack said. “He sort of exuded that or brought that out in you for sure. First and foremost, that’s it—just always had a smile on his face and a smile for you.”
Neff’s playful nature was evident as recently as the Wednesday night before he died, Mack said. It was his sister Summer’s birthday, and she requested the worship leaders not make a big deal out of the occasion during service. But Isaac had a different idea.
“Isaac didn’t want Summer to know he was saying this, so he texted me and said, ‘What she actually means is she wants you to announce it,’” Mack said.
In the classroom, Neff was a calm, easygoing presence who was always smiling and engaged.
“He doesn’t talk a whole lot, but he’s listening and is very engaged in class,” Professor of History Matt McCook said. “You can tell he’s thinking very deeply about the subject, so he was always a lot of fun to have in class. Just a real easygoing student.”
An example of Neff’s fun and easygoing demeanor came last year, when history students and professors gathered at John Maple’s home for a meal. While most carpooled to his house about a block away from campus, Neff had a different way of getting there.
“He rode his bike over there, but it was a torrential downpour by the time he got there,” McCook said. “So he showed up a little bit after most people and was just soaking wet. It was kind of funny and yet people thought, ‘Somebody could’ve given you a ride if we knew you came over on a bike.’ And he just shrugged; he was so funny about it. He wasn’t embarrassed. He wasn’t too cool to ride a bicycle over a block.”
Trey Orndorff, associate professor of political science, said Neff was always on top of his reading and willing to contribute to class discussion.
“We were in an American politics class, and it was one of those days where not everyone had done all the reading,” Orndorff said. “But he had. He could see that I was kind of pulling teeth, and he gave me that smile and just kind of took over the class that day and had a good moment about it.”
Neff was 19 years old. Funeral services will be held today in his hometown of College Station.
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