Jordan, Khalil, Cressida, and John Owen Habib stand for a family photo.

When Khalil Habib’s 21-year-old son fell into a coma after a rock climbing accident in Morocco two weeks ago, students, staff, and faculty reached out to support the family with text messages, emails, and prayers — and many contributed to a GoFundMe account that raised more than $230,000 for medical expenses.

John Owen Habib died April 11 following a catastrophic fall on April 1, according to the GoFundMe account organized by his brother, Jordan Habib. He was at Akdital Hospital in Tangier.

“He was far greater than I could ever be,” Associate Professor of Politics Khalil Habib, John Owen’s father, said. “If this pain is the price of having had him as a child, I would pay it again just to hold him one last time.” 

College President Larry Arnn said he met John Owen once when he was visiting campus. 

“Many people at Hillsdale found him to be attractive, talented, and engaging,” Arnn said. “He was a star student and a star young man. It is a great loss.”

When John Owen was still in the hospital, Arnn said the college was planning to help bring him home to the states.

“We were helping them to arrange a special flight with medical care to get John Owen back to America,” Arnn said. “It looked like it was going to be able to be organized.”

After John Owen’s accident, the Habib family flew to Morocco to be with him in the hospital.

“We all spent every day upon our arrival in Morocco by his bedside, holding his hands and praying over him,” Khalil said. “We were talking to him even though he was in a coma and playing his favorite music and messages from his friends around the world.”

He said his wife, Cressida Habib, and his son, Jordan, were by John Owen’s side supporting him the entire time. 

“They were best friends,” Khalil said. 

Adam Carrington, associate professor of politics, said the outpouring love and worry for the Habib family is a testament of how Khalil has touched so many lives at Hillsdale. 

“He is a deeply devoted husband and father,” Carrington said. “He makes time and does so much for his family.” 

Dan O’Toole, lecturer in politics, said he will teach Habib’s Classical Political Philosophy course and Professor of History Paul Rahe will teach his Roman Political Thought graduate level course. Recent Ph.D. graduate Joey Barretta will teach his section of U.S. Constitution.

Carrington said everyone on campus should remember to pray for the Habib family and be prepared to welcome Khalil back when the time comes.

Sophomore Amanda Dover said she has enjoyed being in Khalil’s Classical Political Philosophy class this semester. 

“I will greatly miss Dr. Habib’s presence and teaching for the remainder of the semester,” Dover said. 

O’Toole said John Owen was optimistic, adventurous, and bold. He thought all of Khalil’s best qualities could be seen through his son. 

“He was very smart, generous, and full of life,” O’Toole said. “He made the most of the limited time he had.”

John Owen attended Brown University and was studying Chinese, philosophy, and economics. Through his studies at Brown he learned to speak fluent Mandarin. He had a passion for music and was a self-taught guitarist, according to the GoFundMe. 

“John Owen was joy and curiosity personified. He celebrated his friends, challenged, and encouraged them to be better people; to dare more, to try harder, and to treat themselves and others with grace and respect,” read the GoFundMe account. 

He often expressed the desire to start a fund or foundation to help others have access to the many opportunities he had at Brown. 

The GoFundMe account says people can continue to donate to help realize John Owen’s goal. 

Khalil said he and his family are extremely grateful to the Brown community for the support they have received from them. 

Khalil started teaching at Hillsdale in 2018, and previously taught at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island and Boston University. He earned his B.A. from the University of Maine in 1996, his M.A. from the University of Toronto in 1997, and his Ph.D. from Boston University in 2005. His academic writings have involved everything from the French philosopher Montesquieu to Shakespeare’s “King John.”

“We are grateful to the entire Hillsdale community,” Khalil said. “We never felt alone or unsupported. Hillsdale is truly one family, and we will never forget the extraordinary love and support we received from our friends and colleagues at the college.”