By Nicole Hamilton
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Michael James Whitaker's nonjudgmental, accepting nature made him a friend to all.

"He was the most kind soul and he was my best friend from day one," said his older sister, Lindsay-Anne Whitaker of Anderson Township. "He had so many friends, young and old."

His sister said that when he started attending James Madison University with her, her friends started, "calling him up to hang out with them before me."

Mr. Whitaker's body was found Monday night in his off-campus home near the university in Harrisonburg, Va. The Anderson Township resident, who was beginning his junior year, turned 21 on May 18. The official cause of death has not been determined, but Harrisonburg Police said they do not suspect foul play.

"Our nickname for Mike was 'gloriuz.' That's because he was full of life and love. He was sensible, honorable," said his friend and housemate in Harrisonburg, Blake Nabours.

Mr. Whitaker had recently declared English as his major, and was earning "his best grades ever," his sister said. "My mother thought he was starting to come into his own," she said.

Raised in Anderson Township, Mr. Whitaker graduated from St. Xavier High School in 2002. He was a top honors student in high school and a member of the school's international Spanish honor society, and participated in the Big Brothers program.

His sister said he was a "music fanatic" who loved the Dave Matthews Band, and would attend both nights of its shows when it played in Cincinnati.

"Mike was taking one class at James Madison University during the May session, and looked forward to coming back home and going to work with my friends at Keating, Muething & Klekamp as a messenger clerk," said his father, James R. Whitaker of Anderson Township.

His sister said he had excelled as a writer and had been urged by professors to take more writing classes and to pursue a career where he could use those skills.

"You always knew where he stood on things and what he thought about you and he had a strong sense of fairness. At the same time he was a genuinely affectionate person. Discussing an essay with him was both intense and fun," said his former teacher at St. Xavier, Mike Marchal.

"He was thinking about a career in music journalism, or maybe law school. He was a smart guy," his sister said. "But most of all, he was everybody's friend."

Besides his father and sister, other survivors include his mother, Sharon Whitaker of Anderson Township; another sister, Allison-Marie Whitaker of Flagstaff, Ariz.; paternal grandparents John and Marian Radel of The Villages, Fla.; and grandparents Edmund and Marie Cooley of Scotia, N.Y.

Mass of Christian burial will be 9:30 a.m. today at St. Rose Church, 2501 Eastern Ave., Columbia Tusculum.

Burial will be in Spring Grove Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to St. Xavier High School, 600 West North Bend Road, Cincinnati, OH 45224.

E-mail nhamilton@enquirer.com