Remembering Skippy

December 1, 2006

The Campus community lost a small but vital member last month. Sometime on the night of October 17th, Skippy the Squirrel scurried off this mortal coil, after 9 and a half years in his home under the stairs in Geology. 

He was discovered early on the morning of October 18th by a University staff member, lying peacefully on his back in his cage (Skippy, not the staff member).  Post mortem analysis suggests that Skippy passed of heart failure.

Skippy entertained countless students, staff, faculty and members of the extended Campus community.  Many children, including my own, have fond memories of trips to the Geology Museum to watch Skippy running frantically on his wheel, then stopping suddenly to make “the loop”.  A colleague of mine recounted how when she and her now-husband were students, they regularly went to visit Skippy and watch his antics during their breaks between classes.

In my mind, Skippy was more than a squirrel, he was a member of the University family, exhibiting many traits common to other, larger members of our community; working at a frenetic industrious pace on tasks that some might consider mysterious or pointless; relentlessly saving (or hoarding) objects of value to him; in his later years, taking long naps after large meals; and above all, providing countless hours of entertainment and enjoyment for the rest of us.  

Farewell, Skippy....

Tyson Brown, ITS

Editor’s Note:  Sue Johnson, curator of the Natural Sciences Museum, told On Campus News she will not replace Skippy with a captured wild squirrel.  Instead, she is waiting for an orphaned baby to become available.  In the interim, Skippy’s cage has become home to bunnies.

Skippy the Squirrel.

Photo by Dennis Dyck