On Feb. 5, 2017, Dr. Patricia O’Reilly, passed away due to pancreatic cancer. Dr. O’Reilly was an Assistant Professor teaching for the department of criminology and law and society at Laurier Brantford.

On Feb. 13, 2017 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., a memorial was planned for students, staff and faculty in the Multi-Purpose room located in the student center.

Rod Jeffrey Tabujara, a fourth-year criminology student, remembers Dr. O’Reilly fondly, “I had Patricia O’Reilly for Women, Law and Crime and it was my first class ever with her. I did not have many personal one on one encounters with her but when I did, she was really kind and understanding. I had once approached her after class in regards to make not being able to make it to the next week’s lecture. She was totally cool with it and gave me a solid run down on what I would be missing out on. Throughout her lectures, there were topics that you could tell she was really passionate about, like Ralph Nader. During her absence, she sent us all an email about our exam review and apologized for abruptly leaving. But she also mentioned how she wishes all of us the best of luck and success in the exam and midterm.”

There has been a GoFundMe page created in memory of Dr. O’Reilly, which is supported by her colleagues at Wilfrid Laurier University. According to the page, the scholarship fund aims to support a student who is looking to pursue issues of social justice and/or intending to apply to law school or graduate studies.