UW-Whitewater grad killed in Colorado theater shooting

WHITEWATER -- A recent UW-Whitewater graduate was one of those killed in the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado during the Dark Knight Rises midnight showing early Friday, July 20th. John Larimer majored in both history and political science.

UW-Whitewater history chair Anthony Gulig says it is impossible to forget Larimer, both as a student and as a person.

"I remember him in our department, physically, in our department a lot -- always there with his friends, other history majors, other officers in Phi Alpha Theta, always around the department when he was here. He just always had a great sense of humor about the world, about his life, about his studies. He took his studies very seriously but he never took himself too seriously," Gulig said.

After graduating in 2008, Larimer took those qualities to the Navy. Uniformed servicemen delivered the news Saturday to Larimer's family in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

In a statement, Larimer's family expressed sympathy to the families of the other victims. They finished by saying "We love you, John, and we will always miss you."

Gulig says Larimer was a young man he would describe as big, both in stature and in character.

"I remember every conversation kind of literally, physically looking up to John. He's just a wonderful gift to us here in our department and our university and we're very sad and very sorry for this loss," Gulig said.

According to the Navy, Larimer was stationed in Aurora since October of 2011. He served as a cryptologic technician, which involves processing and analyzing signals. Gulig says that sounds like a job Larimer would've enjoyed.

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