Remembering James ‘Jimmy’ Orlando
The 20-year-old is the second Temple student this week to suddenly pass away.
UPDATE: The Philadelphia Medical Examiner's office has confirmed to The Tab Temple that James Orlando's death was the result of a drug overdose.
Yesterday morning James "Jimmy" Orlando, a third year student at Fox School of Business, was found unresponsive by Temple and Philadelphia police in his apartment near the corner of 18th and Berks streets. He was pronounced dead shortly after.
A GoFundMe has been set up by fellow Temple student Zach Williams for the family of Jimmy Orlando.
Julia Levan, a junior marketing major who attended Berks Catholic High School with Jimmy, said that "[Jimmy] was the type of person who always was making others laugh and would do anything for his friends."
Orlando, a graduate of Exeter High School in Reading, PA, was remembered by those who knew him as a "genuine" person whose goal was to make everyone he encountered laugh.
Morgan Kolakowski, a junior journalism major, mentioned that "Whenever I passed him at Temple or ran into him at home, he would go out of his way to say hello and ask how I was doing."
Temple Student Government President Tyrell Mann-Barnes commented on the loss of Orlando in the following tweet:
The university also put out a statement in regard to the situation:
We are extremely saddened by the passing of James Orlando, a third-year business student from Reading, Pennsylvania. He was 20 years old. We grieve alongside everyone who knew James and encourage all members of the Temple community to think of and pray for his loved ones. His family and friends are accepting memorial donations at https://www.gofundme.com/jimmyomemorialfund.
The entire Temple community has lost a great presence, person and soul with the loss of Jimmy.