Wairimu “Nimo” Thande
To many, Wairimu “Nimo” Thande was the creative soul with the long hair who wore her room key as an earring.
A warm, bubbly person, friends and family said Thande could brighten anyone’s day.
“I think the reason why her death affected so many people was not because they were all super close with her, but because she was the type of person who made you feel like you mattered,” said Hannah Methvin, a sophomore English and studio art major. “She paid attention, and she really cared about what people had to say.”
Thande, 19, was pronounced dead Oct. 19 after she was found unresponsive in her South Campus Commons 2 apartment. The medical examiner is investigating the cause of death.
Born in Nairobi, Kenya, on Dec. 11, 1992, Thande moved with her family to the United States and attended North Point High School in Waldorf. In her time there, she founded and edited the school’s online newspaper, Eagle Eye. Before graduating in 2011 with honors, Thande wrote dozens of stories on sports, events and student life, features on everything from the first boy’s basketball player to sign with a major university team to students’ perspectives on what it means to be African American.
She continued to write in college, covering fashion, entertainment and local charity events for a website dedicated to the area’s best philanthropies, supportsomething.org.
Thande was a member of Global Communities, and those who saw posters and flyers for the living-learning program may have spotted some of her designs.
“Although she was not living in Dorchester this year, we all still felt her presence,” Global Communities Director Virginia Haufler wrote to the community on Oct. 22.
Thande also put her talent for the arts to work shooting and editing videos for Urban Cartel, a local rap group with several alumni members. She also made the group one of her designs, a pen and ink portrait painted over in deep browns and blues.
“Nimo was one of the nicest people I have ever met. Very kind hearted and artistic,” wrote Seph Ade, a member of Urban Cartel, in an email. “We will miss her spirit and positive energy greatly.”
Friends and family described Thande, a sophomore business major, as a free spirit and a gifted artist. Whether for her eloquent writings or the detailed drawings and jewelry she made and sold online, Thande received numerous awards for her artistic ability.
Thande was active in her church, the John Calvin Presbyterian Church in Annandale, Va., and always made time for friends and family. She was pursuing a career as a pharmacist and had a passion for music, playing piano and guitar. Her family said she loved to sing.
For those who knew her and even those who didn’t, her sudden death was jarring. She was memorialized in an outpouring of tweets and blog posts in the days following her death.
“She positively impacted so many people’s lives, including my own, and ‘sad’ doesn’t seem to do justice to how upsetting her untimely passing is,” Methvin said.
She is survived by her parents, Thande Njuguna and Nyambura Thande, a brother, Njuguna, and younger sister, Murugi. Friends and family commemorated Thande’s life on Saturday at a funeral service held at Good Samaritan Presbyterian Church in Waldorf, followed by an interment ceremony at Heritage Memorial Cemetery in Waldorf.
The family is accepting donations through the Bank of America in Waldorf. Details are available at DiasporaMessenger.com.
