( CNN ) -- Friends and family planned a memorial service in Atlanta , Georgia , on Thursday for Thor Hesla , who died in Monday 's attack on a luxury hotel in Afghanistan . Friends describe Thor Hesla as a `` passionate believer '' and `` larger than life . '' Hesla , 45 , loved a game of ultimate Frisbee , a motorcycle ride and a great adventure . Friends say he found no adventure greater than helping people . He set off for another adventure in October , this time to Afghanistan to work with the U.S. Agency for International Development , or USAID , to help build civil society . `` Thor Hesla was a passionate believer in what is possible in the world , '' said a statement posted online by Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi , a friend of 20 years . The Taliban said it was behind the attack that killed him , carried out by suicide bombers and gunmen . Six other people were killed at Kabul 's Serena hotel that day . Six days after Hesla arrived in Afghanistan , he had e-mailed details of his new surroundings to his far-away friends . Despite the violence wracking the nation , Hesla described Kabul as a city with potential and `` astonishing beauty . '' He said he was struck by glimpses of `` desperately poor '' Afghans . `` I saw a man moving down the street who was , literally , wearing only rags yesterday , '' Hesla wrote . He expressed pride in his work and the American effort to rebuild Afghanistan , writing , `` You are forcibly reminded how good and inspirational Americans can be . '' Life in Kabul is n't easy . Diplomats and contractors in Afghanistan are under strict security and their travel is severely restricted . A witness to Monday 's attack said terrorists forced their way into the hotel gym and shot three or four people who were working out . Watch witness describe the attack » . Hesla 's friends said he joined the hotel 's gym and spa as a diversion from his limited daily routine . `` You 're always , always , always , reminded how great a blessing it is to come from a land which has never known -- since 1865 -- serious war , '' Hesla wrote his friends , referring to the Civil War . `` It 's really difficult to calculate how damaging all-out war can be on a society . '' `` He was very passionate about everything , '' said friend Stefan Tigges , according to CNN affiliate WGCL . `` He was very generous . He was very spirited , very kind . '' Tigges told the Atlanta TV station his friend was `` larger than life in every way in terms of his sense of humor , his intellect , his capacity to love , all these things . '' At Atlanta 's Emory University , Hesla studied English literature and played rugby . He also worked for the Atlanta Olympic Committee and various Democratic political campaigns , including the 2000 campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley . In countries such as Trinidad and Tobago ; Venezuela , St. Vincent and the Grenadines ; Antigua , Barbados and Aruba , Hesla tried to build bridges between feuding groups , and worked on political campaigns seeking to fight crime and corruption , create jobs and improve education , his friends said . For more than three years , Hesla had worked in war-ravaged Kosovo , where he helped reform economic systems . After taking time off to travel and write both a screenplay and a novel , he had set off for Afghanistan to work as a contractor for USAID in its `` capacity building '' program , helping government institutions , social organizations and universities with financial matters . `` We mourn the loss of our fellow employee , Thor Hesla , `` said Elizabeth Palmer of BearingPoint , Hesla 's employer . `` He was a loving son and brother and an important part of our BearingPoint family . His commitment to helping the people of Afghanistan was well known , and we will miss him terribly . '' Following Thursday 's services in Georgia , another is planned for Hesla in Washington D.C. , which friends said was his `` adopted home . '' E-mail to a friend . CNN 's Elise Labott contributed to this report .
Atlanta native Thor Hesla , 45 , died Monday in suicide bombing of Kabul hotel . In e-mail to friends , he said Afghan capital had `` astonishing beauty '' Memorials planned for U.S. contractor in D.C. and hometown of Atlanta . Taliban claims attack which killed seven at hotel frequented by Westerners .