Very sad news from Ridgely : Keavy Nenninger

[John Simon]

I have received word of a terrible incident out at Highland. There was a tug accident this morning involving our friend and new tug pilot Keavy Nenninger. Sadly, she did not survive the resulting impact. I don't have much detail except it was an accident on takeoff. I felt it best the club was informed as many of us have come to know this lovely young woman in recent months.

The crew at Highland is obviously distraught and will not be operating for some time yet to be determined. I am sure they will need some space as they struggle to understand this tragedy. Thank you for any kind thoughts and prayers you have for our friends. I am very sorry to have to convey this news to all of you.

Peace,

John

[John Dullahan]

John,
Thank you for letting us know about this terrible accident. Keavy was an intelligent and enthusiastic member of the Highland team, and her tragic death is a severe blow to the flying community.

John D.

[markc]

My condolences to Keavy's family and friends, and to everyone at Highland. At an appropriate time, if you could pass along information about memorial services, contributions, and the like, I'm sure that many would appreciate that.

Simply terrible news....

MarkC

[sailin]

This is terrible news and a huge loss to our community. Rest in peace Keavy. My thoughts and prayers go out to Keavy's family, friends, and the team at Highland.

Jon

[Ward Odenwald]

One of the highlights this season at Ridgely was that I had the opportunity to interact with Keavy. She was a remarkable addition to the community and a friendly caring intelligent person that had a way about her that made me and others feel good!

Ward

[rasmussenv]

This news just makes me heartsick ... for Keavy, who towed me up a few times and was a spirited gal, for her family and loved ones, and for Adam and Sunny and the Highland family. I'm just so, so sorry.

[A0213]

Just heard the news... I am speechless. Rest in Peace Keavy.

My thoughts and prayers are with Keavy's family, friends, and flying community.

[KirkLewis]

I'm shocked like most of you. I can't believe she's gone. She was so passionate about flying and it was uplifting just to be around her. I didn't know her long but I wanted to know more about her, so I found this:

http://www.aopa.org/asf/publications/in ... ticle=5290

Sounds like Keavy. I wish her family the best... this is such a tragic loss.

[Dave Proctor]

My heart is broken...
DaveP

[CraginS]

Sadness. Sympathy. Condolences. Loss.
Thank you, Keavy, for becoming part of the local us.

Cragin

[Christian]

I just wanted to say how much I will miss her as we all will. She was such a wonderful addition to the Ridgeley family.

Christian

[Matthew]

The loss of one of us diminishes us all. And Keavy was one of us. We, this small community of pilots, are a family. A lot of people come into our sport, get a rating and then disappear. Or they breeze into town, join us for a flew flights and we never hear from them again. They never become part of our family. Keavy, however, felt like family the very first time I met her at Ridgely. She LOVED flying. And she loved the crew and flying scene at Highland. She worked so hard to pull our gliders into the sky and make us happy. This tragedy has made both Karen and me heartsick, We miss this lovely young lady who only recently became a part of our family. Our deepest condolences go out to all of her families and to all of her friends.

Matthew

[carweill]

It’s amazing to realize how quickly she became part of the family. I’m stunned and without words. It is clear we will miss her enthusiastic attitude to just about anything Keavy would talk about.

Carlos

[markc]

Over the years (sadly) several of our friends have been remembered at chgpa.org with special tributes, photos, and stories.

If you have any pics, fun tales, tall tales, or recollections of Keavy Nenninger that you would like to share, then please feel free
to provide them here. Or, if you cannot post (not a member), then feel free to send pics & stories to webdev@chgpa.org. I'll make
sure that they get to everyone.

MarkC

[Ward Odenwald]

When she wasn't towing us aloft, she was making sure that we had a safe start. I never got around to asking her about that hat, but I'm pretty sure there must have been an interesting story behind it. Ward

[Cliff]

Truly a great loss for our community and how many others we can’t possibly imagine. I only knew her for a week at ECC 2011, but her presence was a highlight of the week, both her joy and enthusiasm of flying, and her selfless dedication to the safety and positive experience of the pilots at the comp. Wanting to know a little bit more about her, I googled her name and found she graduated from Parks College at St. Louis University with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. She was a member of two teams which placed in the Missouri/Illinois Idea-to-Product competition, developing a Standing Mobility Assistant for persons with difficulty walking long distances (http://www.slu.edu/x39026.xml) and the Austral Very Light Jet (http://www.slu.edu/x39027.xml). There is a write-up on the latter here, including a nice photo of Keavy and her team (you can click on the photo for an enlargement): https://sites.google.com/a/slu.edu/aeng ... 0/mini-jet. I found a reference to Keavy’s mother as a senior staff engineer with Sikorsky Aircraft in Huntsville. Here’s an article about Keavy and her mom at Keavy’s private pilot practical test: http://www.aopa.org/asf/publications/in ... ticle=5290. None of this surprises me, from having met her, but it gave me a broader perspective beyond our hg world on the scope of this loss, and how many people will miss her.

[CraginS]

http://obits.al.com/obituaries/huntsvil ... =152744300
Total content:
=====
Keavy Nenninger

May 2, 1986 - July 23, 2011

Keavy Ruth Nenninger, 25, of Huntsville passed away Saturday. Laughlin Service Funeral Home will announce arrangements.


Published in The Huntsville Times on July 24, 2011

[markc]

Some information that Keavy's aunt wanted to share with everyone:

I've been following your posts about this horrible accident. I can not thank you enough for your kind words.

So far all I can share is Keavy is being flown back to Huntsville, Alabama.
Her funeral service will be held at Holy Spirit Catholic Church there in Huntsville. No time has been set yet.
Laughlin Service Funeral Home is handling the arrangements there.

I will follow up with more information as soon as we get it.


Thank you again for all your care and concern.

Hope Cook

[Petr]

It is was truly stunning news on Saturday about Keavy, soon after I called Highlands to arrange for another tandem... It was difficult to believe and the right words are still hard to find.
It is now only a little more than a week ago that I met Keavy at Ridgely and took an early morning tandem flight with Adam, being towed up behind her small plane. After a couple of years, returning to a hang glider for what I though would be one flight was really exciting and I was happy to see that my old HG flying instincts were coming back. Nevertheless, what really changed my mind so that I signed up for more after landing was the good vibe I got from people at Highlands, the sense of camaraderie, joy of flying and professionalism that exuded from all of them.
Although I spent just short time there that morning, I could see that Keavy was a huge part of that atmosphere and in some sense a central one. Everyone obviously relied on her flying skills and hard work (she told me that about a week earlier, she had towed over 80 HGs in one day) but it was also noticeable that when she was not in the air, everyone could and did rely on Keavy's easy smile and positive attitude. That is what helped me calming down before my first flight in years and I can see that there were probably many other pilots, beginners or not, who benefited from her generous and joyful spirit as I did.
My deepest condolences to everyone who was close to Keavy or knew this impressive and lovely young lady better than I did. Your loss is unimaginable to me and I wish that over time you find solace in the many good memories of her life.
Thank you very much, Keavy! Rest in peace.
Petr

[hefalump]

Obituary and Memorial Services from Laughlin Service Funeral Home : Huntsville, Alabama (AL)
www.laughlinservice.com.


Keavy Ruth Nenninger, 25, of Huntsville passed away Saturday. She is a 2004 graduate of Huntsville High School where she played soccer. Keavy graduated from St. Louis University Parks College of Engineering and Aviation in 2010 with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, and was on the collegiate flight team, the Flying Billikens. She earned her Commercial Pilot’s license and was employed by Highlands Aerosports in Ridgley, Maryland. Keavy’s adventurous spirit was infectious and she died doing what she loved most – flying. She was preceded in death by paternal grandfather, Albert William Nenninger of Leopold, Missouri, and maternal grandmother, Nora B. Brunegraff of Pensacola, Florida.

Survivors include father, William “Bill” A. Nenninger of Huntsville; mother, Lisa Anne Brunegraff of Huntsville; paternal grandmother, Mrs. Catherine R. Nenninger of Farmington, Missouri; maternal grandfather, Bernard O. Brunegraff of Pensacola, Florida; aunts, Ann Nenninger Anderson of Madison, Louise Nenninger Brewer of Farmington, Missouri, Mary Elna Flores and husband, William, Hope Cook and husband Russell, of Nashville, Tennessee; uncles John Nenninger and wife, Jutta of Festus, Missouri, Bernie Brunegraff of Nashville, Tennessee; cousins, Brittian Anderson of Madison, Robert Anderson of Barberton, Ohio, David Brewer of Ft. Leavenworth, Missouri, Teresa Brewer of Farmington, Missouri, Nicholas Brewer of St. Charles, Missouri, Eric Nenninger of Chicago, Illinois, Katrina and Nora Flores of Pensacola, Florida, Sara, Hallie, Aaron and Macey Brunegraff of Nashville, Tennessee, Reuben Barringer of Houston, Texas, Samuel Barringer of Knoxville, Tennessee; and special friend, Erich Hess of Hartford, Connecticut.

Visitation will be from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Thursday at Laughlin Service Funeral Home, with the Rosary at 7:00. The funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Holy Spirit Catholic Church with Father Kevin Bazzel officiating. Burial will be in Maple Hill Cemetery, Inc.

Memorials may be made to St. Louis University Parks College of Engineering and Aviation, The Flying Billikens Flight Team, Experimental Aircraft Association 190 – Education Programs, CASA of Madison County – Garden, or a charity of your choice.

[hefalump]

After submitting the last post I noticed my standard automatic tag line below, it's a quote from "FIght Club" and no disrespect intended.

[Lauren Tjaden]

Funeral service information for Keavy Nenninger:

Visitation Thursday from 6-8pm at Laughlin Funeral Home, 2320 Bob Wallace Avenue, Huntsville, AL 35805

Funeral - Friday, July 29, 11am at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 625 Airport Road Southwest, Huntsville, AL 35802

Burial at Maple Hill Cemetary following the funeral

I believe there will also be something at Moontown Airport on Saturday.
Lauren Tjaden
PS: What sweet posts you have made. What a terrible loss.

[markc]

Here's a photo that a forum user wanted to share...

Described as "Keavy relaxing with Carrie after a hard day of flying"

[air_medal]

I want to live in the past.

[Dave Proctor]

I met Keavy a couple of years ago when she came to visit Cindy and George. Cindy retrieved me a couple of times that week and Keavy came along on at least one of those occasions. How can you not have fun on a retrieve from Cindy *and* Keavy. It was clear from the start that Keavy was a fun person. We were all happy when we found out she was coming to Maryland. Keavy raised the fun meter at Highland, which is no trivial feat. She will be missed by everyone who ever met her. And those who never had the pleasure of her company will not know their loss. I saw somewhere a statement that she died doing what she loved. This makes is sound as if her love is what took her life, when in fact her love of flying is, I am sure, what gave her life, as it does for many of us. I prefer to think that she did what she loved until she died. For the past several days I have had many recurring thoughts, and I keep coming back to: how can all that fun, friendship, and love just stop. As if it could just evaporate. I can't let it die with Keavy. I am going to try add a little more love, fun, and friendship into my own life. Hopefully you will do the same, and maybe between us all we can absorb much of it.

DaveP