Mike Montgomery, 43, coordinator of the Recreation Center and leisure programs, died Aug. 11.

Montgomery earned his bachelor’s degree in human development and education from NDSU in 1998. He joined NDSU as an employee on July 21, 2008. As part of his role, he also taught bowling and billiards classes in collaboration with the health, nutrition and exercise sciences department.

“The students who worked in the Recreation Center truly saw him as a father figure,” said Steve Winfrey, director of the Memorial Union. “He often used the phrase, ‘Do or do not. There is no try,’ taken from Yoda in ‘Star Wars.’ ”

Montgomery’s son, Andrew, will attend NDSU this fall and his daughter, Anna, plans to attend NDSU in 2013.