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Jack Price was a live-in volunteer at Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. He was pinned beneath his truck in an accident on Tuesday. Price will be remembered as an advisor and father figure for the men in the fraternity.

Price will be remembered as father figure

Live-in fix-it guru and OSU alumnus Jack Price dies at local hospital after being trapped under his truck

By: Candice Ruud

Posted: 10/16/08

Jack Price, 43, an OSU alumnus from the class of '89 and temporary live-in volunteer at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity died on Tuesday when he was pinned beneath his truck after attempting to get the stalled vehicle to start.

Price had just left the fraternity house and was at the corner of Northwest 14th Street and Northwest Van Buren Avenue when his truck stalled. This was a regular occurrence since the ignition had been broken for some time and he always had to fiddle with it, said Chris Gerritz, a junior in electrical engineering and the president of Phi Kappa Psi.

Friends and bystanders said that Price got out of the truck and moved in front of it, attempting to get it to restart by reaching into the hood and working on the engine. Suddenly, and without notice, the truck restarted, shifted into gear and lurched forward, trapping him underneath.

By this time, a crowd had gathered and a nearby woman in her car called the police. People stood around the perimeter of the scene, watching as police and medical workers attempted to get Price out from under the truck, which would prove to be impossible.

Bystanders began to take pictures with their cell phones as they milled about watching the effort, which took more than an hour.

"He was a big guy," Gerritz said, motioning with his arms to portray the late man's size. Price will be remembered as a lovable father figure to the brothers of Phi Kappa Psi. "We called him Big Jacks," Gerritz said with a smile.

During the commotion, several attempts were made to shut the car off, but there were no keys in the ignition as they were presumably with Price.

Friends and bystanders speculated that it may have been due to Price's size that it was so difficult to budge him from under the truck.

Rescue workers popped the back tires to lower the rear of the truck, and then wedged blocks of wood underneath the front tires to relieve some of the weight from Price's body to no avail.

After finally pulling him from under the truck, they hurried Price to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, where he died shortly after.

For the past two months, Price lived during the weekdays at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity with the active fraternity brothers and helped them to completely restore the house. He renovated the kitchen and did odd jobs, becoming an advisor, mentor and a second House Dad for the newly reinstated fraternity.

"We basically just fed him and gave him a place to sleep," Gerritz said. "We really couldn't pay him much of anything but he did it anyway because of his connection to Oregon Beta and the brotherhood."

During the weekends, he would go home to Beaverton, where he had a seasonal tree farm.

"It was weird to find somebody like him, but he just fit in so well with everybody," said Jack Grant, a member of Phi Kappa Psi who was close with Price.

"He was the closest thing that everyone in that house has had to an advisor. He was like a father to us. He was there for us when we needed him and he had the answers to everything."

Zach Peresa, a junior in Spanish, worked and lived in the house with Price over the summer and together they refurbished the fraternity's kitchen.

"It's hard to put into words how much effort and time he put into the house," Peresa said.

Price is survived by his parents and brothers, and will be remembered by his sense of humor, easygoing nature and willingness and motivation to take care of the things and people he loved, as he did by helping get the young men of Phi Kappa Psi situate themselves in their new home.

"The dedication and mentorship he showed was outstanding," Gerritz said. "He helped us get on our feet."

Candice Ruud, news editor

news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231