I am saddened to read in the Globe and the Crimson of the death of Peter Gomes, the longtime minister of Harvard’s Memorial Church.

A mere 68—so young!

There are thousands, probably tens of thousands, of Harvardians who knew Gomes better than I, so all I will say is that he was someone who deeply loved the university, cherished its traditions and virtues, was both a student of its history and a teacher of it, and lived a singular and memorable life.

There reached a point in Gomes’ life when it would have been hard to think of him without Harvard, and now it is hard to think of Harvard without him.