A friend to everyone and passionate about all he did, friends of Dashiell Mortell recall his kind-hearted acts through his fraternity and his widespread involvement in groups at WSU.

Mortell, a sophomore, died in a car crash Jan. 7 in a nine-car pileup on Interstate 90 on his way back to Pullman.

Mortell started school at WSU and pledged to Beta Theta Pi in fall 2015.

Fraternity brother JP Leahy first met Mortell on bid day of their freshman year. Leahy recalled them sprinting down to the fraternity house and grabbing a few cigars. They talked but didn’t become close until they became twins in the house later that semester.

“Within 20 minutes of talking to Dash I knew that he was the kind of guy that becomes everyone’s best friend,” he said.

Both of them became littles to now senior Matthew Yusen.

“As I got to know him I knew for sure in my heart that I wanted him to be my little brother,” said Yusen. “(Mortell) sincerely loved being a Beta. He stepped up into leadership potential and showed incredible promise as a pledge educator, a position of critical importance within our fraternity.”

Besides the fraternity, Mortell was active on campus as a member of the Young Democrats, intramural sports, sociology club and performing arts.

Performing Arts Assistant Clinical Professor Ben Gonzalez said Mortell showed leadership, intelligence and willingness to take risks as director for his group in his final project.

“In every way I could observe, Dash was remarkable. Exceptional,” he said. “It is often not easy to stand out in a larger class, but Dash surely did. It is a tragedy knowing that someone like Dash won’t be here to leave his mark on this world.”

Young Democrats president Gavin Pielow said Mortell was the very first person he befriended upon arriving to college.

“That fact alone exemplifies how approachable and amiable he was,” he said. “He joined this organization out of his towering energy to exert compassion into the community.”

Pielow said Mortell’s dedication to making the most of his college experience launched him into participating in a Young Democrats’ debate last semester, for which they both spent a long time preparing for.

“He was beyond eager for the opportunity and performed sensationally,” Pielow said. “I’m still swelled with pride in Dash for everything he’s done for us and his community. Dash had given life to friends and organizations around him; that’s why it’s all the more tragic that he lost his own.”

Leahy said no matter what Mortell did, he always put in full effort.

“Dash was passionate about everything he put his mind to,” Leahy said. “He was always extremely motivated no matter the circumstances. He was extremely passionate about his school work, his friends and family.”

Another fraternity brother, freshman Dylan Edgar, met Mortell during the fall 2016 rush week. He said they quickly became friends as he helped Mortell with his fraternity duties.

“Even though I was new, he was so welcoming and he made me feel like I’ve already been a member,” Edgar said. “The way he looked at life was so positive and unique. Whenever we’d hang out he would instantly give off positive energy.”

He said Mortell gave him his gold necklace one night for no reason at all. Edgar said this showed Mortell’s kind heart and the joy he brought to him and everyone he encountered.

“I just want people to remember how genuine and down to earth he was,” Edgar said. “I only knew him for one semester, but he showed respect for everyone he encountered and mainly I just want people to remember that he was a one-of-a-kind dude that didn’t deserve to go.”

He said Mortell would go out of his way to make conversations with people to gain friends and strengthen present ones.

Yusen said he recalls driving home with Mortell, talking about politics and life in general.

“I found that he was perhaps the easiest and most enjoyable person to talk to,” he said. “His personality made a six hour drive go by like nothing happened.”

Yusen said Mortell brought joy and happiness to others and had wisdom and passion for doing the right thing.

“He always seemed to have the right thing to say at exactly the right time and he always encouraged people to be the best they could be,” Yusen said.

He said he would come home to Beta Theta Pi after a rough day, and within seconds of interacting with Mortell, would feel the stress of the day disappear.

“I would like people to remember that quality of him,” Yusen said. “His ability to make people happy was truly amazing.”