Gregory Barrow's spent his last day with family and friends in the Florida sunshine.

The Lapeer, Mich., native visited his family in Ponce Inlet, Fla., outside of Daytona Beach, to celebrate Christmas and the New Year. Although returning to his Detroit home meant snow and cold, he was excited about completing his last semester at Wayne State University, where he was studying to be a tax attorney.

His father, Dr. Leonard Barrow, said Gregory, 31, studied at home Thursday, then drove his rental car to Fort Lauderdale to visit a friend.

His family went on to Tallahassee, where older brother, Leonard Jr., received an award from the Florida Supreme Court for his pro bono work as an attorney.

When Leonard and Ruth Barrow arrived home late Thursday, they had a message on their answering machine to call Comair.

''We didn't even know there was a crash,'' Leonard Barrow said.

Gregory Barrow, an avid golfer and swimmer, had moved to Florida to escape Michigan's winters. He graduated from high school in Port Orange, Fla. and joined the U.S. Coast Guard for four years.

After a Coast Guard posting in his native state, he decided to return. He wanted to be an attorney like his brother and sister, Lynda.

''He would have been great,'' his father said. ''He was so kind and so compassionate.''