Pitt student from Plum who died in motorcycle crash described as generous 'Renaissance man'

Adam Garvin found the greatest pleasures in life from simple things — spending time with family and friends, exploring nature and listening to and playing music.

But when it was time to get away from it all, he loved nothing more than the simple joy of riding the open road on his motorcycle.

That joy turned to tragedy early Saturday for the Pitt junior from Plum.

Shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday, Garvin was killed when the 2015 Yamaha motorcycle he was driving on Route 366 in Lower Burrell collided with a car that pulled out from an access road, according to investigators.

Garvin’s motorcycle hit the driver’s side of a 2007 Ford Fusion as it crossed over the eastbound lanes of Route 366, throwing Garvin from the bike.

Garvin was pronounced dead at the scene by a deputy from the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office. He was 20. An autopsy to determine the cause and manner of his death was scheduled to be performed Monday by Dr. Cyril Wecht and Pathology Associates.

“Adam started working on motorcycles when he was about 5 or 6 years old with his uncle, ” said Katrina Taliani, 20, a lifelong friend of Garvin. They recently rented an apartment in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood with two other friends.

“He just loved to ride whenever he had the chance. He’s done it hundreds of times and was always so careful. That’s what makes this so sad and heartbreaking for us,” she said.

Taliani set up a gofundme.com page to help with the Garvin family’s funeral expenses.

Garvin was experienced with everything from trail to road bikes and joined his uncle this summer for a 2,000-mile roundtrip tour along the Shenandoah Blue Ridge Parkway to the Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, Tenn.

Taliani’s father, Craig Taliani, said it seemed only natural that Garvin would end up studying engineering in college.

“He was a man of many talents,” he said. “He was always very inquisitive and just loved to tear things apart to see how they worked and then put them back together.

“He was not only reading advanced science and engineering books, he had creative talent,” Taliani said. “He taught himself how to play the guitar quite well. He was a Renaissance man.”

Garvin was studying aeronautical engineering at Pitt and was on the dean’s list. He was planning a career in the aircraft industry and hoped to someday work for NASA.

Garvin’s passion for music was rekindled by the recent return of live concerts since the pandemic shutdown.

“He was so excited to finally be able to go to concerts with his friends again to see Green Day” at PNC Park on Aug. 19, Taliani said.

Garvin had begun recording tracks of his own music playing a seven-string guitar.

Garvin also enjoyed beach vacations with family and friends as well as long tours through Italy, which he was planning to do again.

While Garvin’s love for the outdoors ranged from hunting to snowboarding, he was just as content to test his skill at video gaming or simply sit around a cozy campfire with friends, his family said.

Katrina Taliani said her friend’s most endearing quality was his generosity.

“He was always so quick to make everybody smile,” she said. “He never argued with anyone.”

A 2019 graduate of Plum High School, Garvin was a standout offensive lineman on the Mustang’s varsity football team.

“Adam loved all sports, not just the Pittsburgh professional teams,” Katrina Taliani said. “We were together on Friday night with friends, and he was on his phone checking out the scores of the Plum football game.”

Garvin’s mother, Renee Garvin, said her son was “the greatest. Just the greatest.”

“He honored his family and loved his friends, and he readily shared his time, talents and contagious sense of humor,” she said. “He was happiest when those he loved were happy.”

Funeral services are being handled by Burket-Truby Funeral Home, 421 Allegheny Ave., Oakmont, where friends and family will be received from 2 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 2 at Holy Family Parish’s St. Joseph Church, 825 Second St., Verona.

Masks are required during visitation and the Mass. Interment will be private.