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Teen Killed In Colgate Plane Crash Graduated From St. Luke's In New Canaan

NEW CANAAN, Conn. — A teenager from Ridgefield who died in a plane crash Sunday near Colgate University was a 2015 graduate of St. Luke's School in New Canaan and one of the youngest Eagle Scouts in the nation. 

Ryan Adams, a 2015 graduate of St. Luke's School in New Canaan, died Sunday in a plane crash near Colgate University in New York. He lived in Ridgefield.

Ryan Adams, a 2015 graduate of St. Luke's School in New Canaan, died Sunday in a plane crash near Colgate University in New York. He lived in Ridgefield.

Photo Credit: St. Luke's School

Ryan Adams was a freshman at Colgate University. Adams died with fellow Ridgefield resident Cathryn (Carey) Depuy, a classmate at Colgate in the crash.

Adams graduated from St. Luke's with special distinction and he was president of the Support Our Soldiers Club and vice president of the Investment Club. He was also a STEM diploma recipient.

"Words can't express the depth of this tragedy and of course the pain it has inflicted on Ryan's family and friends," Head of School Mark Davis said in a statement. 

Nancy Troeger, the school's director of marketing and communication, said Adams was well known at the school.

"He was the kind of student who just stood out," she said. "He was a well loved young man."

She said Adams was outgoing, kind and a student with a strong intellectual curiosity. Adams did a project on "Emerging Markets: U.S. Correlation and Predictive Analysis" as a senior at St. Luke's, researching emerging markets in Asia and Eastern Europe and performing financial analyses. The research was conducted independently, and he presented a formal dissertation in May 2015.

Adams founded the Support Our Soldiers Club at St. Luke's and honored veterans with an early morning ceremony including a moment of silence and singing of the National Anthem on Veterans Day last year. 

The ceremony today raised awareness for those who sacrifice,” he told the Daily Voice at the time. “Today’s turnout for our gathering reflects how grateful the St. Luke's community is for our soldiers.”

Adams earned his Eagle Scout Award, the highest earned award from Boy Scouts of America, in May 2011 at the age of 13.

He was named Eagle Scout of the Year for the state of Connecticut by the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars for his extensive involvement in the troop as well as in his community.

Adams also attended Nutmeg State Boys State in 2014, and was elected treasurer at the statewide gathering of teens at the forum devoted to civic training and leadership. 

Davis offered comfort to the community at St. Luke's School, where a teacher also recently died.

"It pains me, once again, to bring you terrible news. Ryan Adams (St. Luke's Class of 2015, brother of Kelly, a junior at St. Luke's), was killed in a small plane crash Sunday afternoon," Davis said in a post on the website. 

"We plan to bring the Upper School together to share the news and help each other get through this ordeal," Davis said. "School counselors will be available to any students and faculty who need support tomorrow and over the next several weeks. ...

"I am truly sorry to deliver more heartbreak to the St. Luke’s community."

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