Students, Family Remember Chang Jo

A funeral mass held yesterday in honor of Chang H. Jo '00 began with a performance of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet in A Major, a piece friends said they recalled Jo studying.

Students and family gathered first at St. Paul's Church and later at a reception in the Kirkland House Junior Common Room to remember the biochemistry concentrator and musician.

Jo's death Thursday morning was a suicide resulting from cyanide poisoning, according to a statement issued Saturday by the Massachusetts Chief Examiner's Office.

Jo's family traveled from their home in Cerritos, Calif. to attend the service.

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 wrote in an e-mail message that he was glad that the family chose to have mass close to Harvard.

"Hard as it must have been for them, it was a help to those who knew Chang to have this opportunity to remember him and grieve together over his loss," Lewis wrote.

Jo's friend, Jessica A. Bowen '00, said having the mass at school allowed his friends and family to offer each other support.

"We had an opportunity that most college friends [of students who die] don't have because the funeral was held here," Bowen said. "We were able to participate in intimate ways in the formal remembrance. That was very important to people."

Bowen said that students played an important role in planning the service and reception. Not only did students read the lessons from the Old and New Testaments, but they also played music and spoke about their friendship with Jo.

Chang's friends served as pallbearers, and two friends gave short remarks of remembrance.

The opening and closing processionals included Harvard students playing a Mozart quintet. Jo owned two recordings of that piece, according to Bowen.

"People were willing to put things together and play music on short notice," Bowen said. "Students chose to take time to reschedule things. As a result, we are happy about how he was remembered today."

After the service, there was a reception where students and family members could mourn together and talk about their loss.

"A lot of students were present, which is not only a sign of their respect for Chang but an indication of the need for the college to act as a community that holds together in times like this," Lewis said.