For those who knew Thomas “T.J.” Cline, they would attest to his selflessness, compassion and humor.

As a health administration major, T.J., 23, of Mansfield, sought to help others.

“He wanted to help people and figured that’s where he could help the most,” said his father, also named Thomas Cline. “He had a heart of gold.”

T.J. would do anything for anybody, even if they were a complete stranger, his father said.

Freshman Cory Minor was a complete stranger to T.J. before T.J. moved into his apartment May 2011. But that changed quickly.

“If you needed it, he’d give you the shirt off his back,” Cory said.

“We weren’t sure what to think of him because the three of us already living there were already close friends,” Cory continued. “He just moved in, and we all just kind of connected and became a family,” Cory said. “There was never a dull moment in the house.”

Cory discovered T.J. unresponsive the evening of Feb. 22 in their Enclave apartment and called 911.

After police arrived on the scene, the officer affirmed T.J.’s death, police said. An autopsy report is still pending.

Although he is gone, T.J.’s family and friends remember him for his humor.

“He was a big goofball,” his father said. “If T.J. was around, you were going to have a good time.”

His younger sister, Taylor, said her brother’s humor always lightened the mood.

“He was just the person you wanted to be around because you knew he would lift you up,” said his younger sister, Taylor Cline.

Taylor recalls a few times when her brother would “scare the crap” out of her in the car.

“He’d pretend to cover his eyes, but he’d still be peeping out of them, but from my angle, it would look like he completely shut them,” Taylor said. “Or he’d tell me to look out the window, and I’d turn back to look at him and his fist would be right there, and my face would bash into it.”

“We always had our fights and our moments, but he always made me laugh,” she said.

Cory said T.J. was always looking for fun.

“He would find a silver lining behind anything,” Cory said.

One night, Cory remembers when T.J. proposed sneaking into the Enclave pool after hours to go swimming and hot tubbing.

“He was just so excited that he could climb the fence, he jumped into the hot tub with everything on him: his cell phone, car keys, wallet … everything,” Cory said. “That’s when me and T.J. bonded for the first time, and that was a week after he moved in.”

Like his humor, music also made a deep impact on T.J.’s life.

His father bought him a Gibson guitar for Christmas, and he learned to play it his freshman year of college, taking it everywhere.

Thomas’s favorite memory of T.J. is when he played guitar and sang “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” at his mother’s funeral in April 2010.

“Everyone was so proud,” Taylor said. “As soon as he started singing he had everyone in tears.”

After losing his mother to breast cancer, T.J. set up a memorial benefit for her at a local bar for one night in Mansfield, donating the collected funds to a local breast cancer charity in town, his father said.

The impact of his mother’s death made T.J. really aware of his caring and compassion because that’s what she instilled in him, Thomas said.

“He reminds me so much of my mom,” Taylor said. “He took in her wisdom and passed it on to me.”

T.J.’s passion for music didn’t stop with his own family, but led him to DJ at WBGU and The Attic as well.

Eric Pelham, owner of City Tap and The Attic, said T.J.’s persistence and eagerness led to him becoming DJ.

“He knew what kind of music to play, and that made him the perfect party DJ,” Pelham said.

Pelham said throughout the week DJs dedicated songs to T.J. Some attended his funeral last week.

The Attic sent a bouquet of flowers to the funeral, which was later sent back by the family and is currently displayed in The Attic in T.J.’s memory, Pelham said.

After living with T.J., Cory said he will definitely change his perceptions on how he sees people.

“Anybody who towers over you is going to be intimidating,” Cory said about his 6’3” and roughly 280-pound roommate. “They may be towering over you, but inside they’re probably just a big teddy bear like T.J. was.”

“He definitely made it a point to tell me ‘Be who you are;’ don’t try to be somebody else,” he said.