BEAVER DAM, Ky. — At Beaver Dam City Park and Amphitheater, a place of community and togetherness, a piece of their heart is missing.
“He was a go-getter. He was always willing to jump in and do,” said Tara Carter, who runs the concessions.
It was a year ago that Connor Quisenberry, 18, of Beaver Dam, one of the teenagers who worked for Carter, didn’t show up for work. He had become a familiar face to people at the ballpark — always greeting them with a warm smile at the concession window, treating customers like close friends.
Carter never got to say goodbye.
“I hope people always remember his smiling face at that window,” she said.
Quisenberry dreamed of becoming a pilot and had been working in the concessions to help pay for flight school. He died in pursuit of that dream on Sept. 27, 2023 after the plane carrying Quisenberry and flight instructor Timothy “Junior” McKellar Jr., 22, of Custer, crashed after encountering severe weather during a nighttime flight from Bowling Green to Owensboro.
Investigators found their bodies the next morning in a remote area of Ohio County near Whitesville, Kentucky. A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board would later reveal the plane, operated by Eagle Flight Academy in Owensboro, had been mangled in the crash, with debris spanning more than 20 acres. The NTSB has yet to issue a final report or release what caused the crash. Quisenberry’s parents recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit claiming it was a “totally unnecessary and avoidable crash.“
The tragedy sent shockwaves through western Kentucky as people who knew the two young men grieved their deaths. Quisenberry’s absence was felt at the ballpark the next day as regulars and co-workers mourned together.
“He was supposed to work that night,” Carter recalled. “It was definitely noticed very quickly that we didn’t have him. So it was hard, but just lots of love and hugging and crying and we got through it.”
A short drive from the ballpark, friends and loved ones turned to Hartford Christian Church for comfort as they tried to make sense of the news.
“So many people in the community were grieving during that time. If it wasn’t for [Connor’s] faith, I don’t know that any of us could have got through that,” said senior minister Scott Parker.
Parker had a close relationship with Quisenberry, who was deeply involved with the church. They had spent a lot of time together in the church’s youth ministries, bible studies and service projects. Quisenberry was also a longtime friend of his children, attending homecoming with his daughter and working at Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari with his son.
“He was just the sweetest, most thoughtful young man I can think of. Always looking after other people,” Parker said. “There are still things that remind me of him almost every day.”
Quisenberry’s funeral service was held at the church. There were lots of tears and heavy hearts, Parker said, but the congregation’s and community’s memories of the teen carried them through their grief.
“I don’t think Connor realized the impact that his life had on so many from our church and our community. I know, certainly, my own kids. It’s really, in a way, it’s brought this community together in a way I don’t know that anyone else would have,” said Parker.
Back at the ballpark, next to the concession stand, a bench serves as a place of peaceful reflection and a reminder of tremendous loss.
“In Loving Memory of Connor Quisenberry,” it reads. It’s painted blue — Quisenberry’s favorite color.
Carter collected donations from customers, neighbors, even perfect strangers to fund the bench — a permanent reminder of the friendly teen with the warm smile who meant so much to the community he loved.