It is with great sadness that I must report to you the loss of a member of our campus community. On Thursday, Sept. 5, Staff Sgt. Todd James “T.J.” Lobraico, a member of the New York Air National Guard, was killed in action near Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. T.J. was a student in the Justice and Law Administration program at Western, pursuing a degree in law enforcement. The 22-year-old was on his second deployment.

T.J.’s parents, Todd Lobraico and Linda Rohatsch, both attended Western. Linda obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Todd, a Stamford police officer and Gulf War veteran, took a variety of classes over many years. At their request, public calling hours and the funeral service will take place on campus so the WCSU community and the family’s friends and loved ones can pay their respects.

The public calling hours will be from 3 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12, in the Feldman Arena of the O’Neill Center on the university’s Westside campus, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury.

The funeral will start at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 13, also in the O’Neill Center. Burial will follow in North Cemetery on Church Road in Sherman.

Traffic on the Westside campus is expected to be extremely heavy on both days and we ask for your cooperation and patience during this solemn time.

James W. Schmotter

President