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Daniel Esrick, a Northampton native, was found Monday, Nov. 25, near the Gill side of Route 2, the Northwestern District Attorney's Office said. It's unclear how long he had been in the water.
Daniel was a talented student, according to his obituary. He studied biology and physics at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst before matriculating to the Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he graduated with honors.
He worked as an administrative lawyer for the state of New Jersey and aspired to work in environmental law. Daniel's LinkedIn showed he had been working out of Trenton as a law clerk in the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law for two years.
Daniel's family fondly remembered him as a "brilliant person with an incredibly strong will, a gentle loving heart, a deep love of community and family, and a commitment to keep trying until the end."
They shared a passage from his journal written the day he died:
"There is only today, this moment, and the next … Try to keep your face to the Sun. There is great darkness, there is also great Light."
Police found his body near the French King Bridge on Route 2. Officials do not suspect foul play in his death, the prosecutor's office said.
Police are investigating the circumstances of how he ended up in the water, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.
Esrick's family will receive friends from 5 until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at Aheard Funeral Home at 738 Bridge Road in Northampton.
Click here to read his obituary.
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