Family, friends gather for Richmond grad's wake

Michael Ice had a smile and caring personality that will be forever remembered, Jim Glasheen, 44, an uncle of Ice said at the wake held Tuesday in Rye, N.Y.

"His smile was big and lit up any room he was in," Glasheen said. "But behind Mike's smile was someone who was positive, happy, engaging, caring and loved by all."

The high attendance at Ice's wake reflected this, he said.

"It's truly gratifying to see how strong the community's support is for Mike when so many people came to the wake," Glasheen said.

The wake was held at Graham Funeral Home from 4-8 p.m.

"It looked like the entire Richmond student body came to the wake," Michael Ice Sr., 53, Ice's father said. "It was very touching and emotional to see so many Richmond students in attendance."

Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity President Brian Cherry said, "Seeing how many people showed up and how much it affected everyone is just a testament to his character. ... His closest friends were reduced to tears."

Ice, 22, of Rye, N.Y., was struck and killed by a southbound New York City subway train at the Spring Street Station in Greenwich Village around 6 a.m. on Saturday, according to New York-based news and police reports. It is unsure why he was on the tracks.

Ice was a 2007 graduate of Rye High School and a 2011 graduate of the University of Richmond's Robins School of Business with a degree in finance. He was also a member of the SAE fraternity, where he was the Special Events Chair. Post gradation, Ice worked as a financial analyst at Merrill Lynch in New York.

"Richmond was the best thing that ever happened to Mike," Ice Sr. said. "He really came into his own as a young man through his four years spend at that university."

Ice could not have picked a better college to attend, Ice Sr. said.

Glasheen said, "The opportunities he had there gave him a chance to expand his life, and I know he felt fortunate to go to that school."

The last time Ice Sr. spoke with his son, they discussed Ice's new job at Merrill Lynch, he said.

"It was this past Thursday afternoon when Mike called me at work and we talked for an hour," Ice Sr. said. "We talked about strategies for his new job as a financial analyst and were working on creating his client list."

Ice had a passion for sports, basketball and surfing, as well as a love for Jimmy Buffet music. Ice's love for surfing inspired him to create the surf club at the University of Richmond, Ice Sr. said.

Ice was the kind of person who always looked out for the people around him and treated everyone well no matter what their relationship to him was, Glasheen said.

"He came out to visit me and my family the summer after his college graduation," Glasheen said. "He could have been doing anything with his summer vacation, but he spent a portion of it doing silly ballet dances with my 7-year-old daughter and being a genuinely nice person."

Ice's entire family gathered in Rye for the wake and the funeral.

"Mike was way too young to die," Ice Sr. said. "He had such a wonderful life ahead of him."

Ice was waiting for one of his fraternity brothers to get a job so that they could move into an apartment together in Manhattan, Ice Sr. said.

Glasheen said, "Everything has been extraordinarily trying and heart wrenching, and we're all attempting to piece together how to deal with this new reality of not having Mike around. But we'll manage to somehow carry on with a smile because that's how Mike would have wanted it."

The funeral service will be held at The Church of the Resurrection in Rye, at 11 a.m. on Feb. 29. Donations should be made to The Michael Ice Memorial Fund through Advancement Services, Richmond Hall G-18.

Contact reporter Ryann Dannelly at ryann.dannelly@richmond.edu.