Called upon to write a brief remembrance of his best friend, Jordan Behn, Zane Knapp was quickly reminded of what he lost on a Texas highway.
“Jordan helped me write every paper I ever had to write, so this one was tough,” Knapp said.
Knapp thanked Jordan, 18, for opening up his home and his family.
“They were my second family,” Knapp said. He remembered Lisa Behn’s cooking and her experimental meals that he said were not as great. He mentioned 15-year-old Morgan’s smile, and the kindness he received from father Robert Behn, 45.
All were killed Aug. 1 in a head-on crash on U.S. 287 near the Texas-Oklahoma border as they returned from one of Jordan’s baseball tournaments.
About 200 people gathered on Monday to remember the Behns.
“They were one of the greatest families I’ve ever known,” said Michael Calabria, a family friend.
The funeral and burial services for the family will be held Saturday in Alden, N.Y. Robert and Lisa were originally from New York, and their parents still live there.
The wrong-way driver, Spencer Joe Risinger, 38, of Wichita Falls, Texas, also died in the accident as both vehicles exploded.
Department of Public Safety Trooper Curtis West has said alcohol use by Risinger may have been a factor in the cause of the wreck.
Risinger’s wife, Jennifer Wood Risinger, released a brief statement Monday offering her condolences to the Behn family while she grieved for her husband in Texas.
“Spencer leaves behind a wife and two sons, ages 1 and 5, who all cherished him. Our hearts are broken for the Behn family, and we are all praying for them,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Behn family’s relatives and friends packed the Parker Evangelical Presbyterian Church to share memories and tears.
Lisa’s parents and Robert’s father traveled from New York to be at the memorial.
Lisa’s friend and neighbor, Kristi Mathieson, recalled planning a camping trip with her and their children one summer, but they made it only it as far as Genesee.
Calabria recalled getting e-mails from Robert with detailed updates about Jordan or Morgan’s baseball or basketball games each week.
“I’d say, this is one proud dad,” Calabria said.
The memories of the family stirred some laughs but also tears and sniffles from those in attendance.
Amie Calhoun, Jordan Mendicino and Kenzi Hall, Morgan’s friends, wrote letters to her that they read at the memorial recalling Morgan as a happy young girl who always had advice for her friends.
Gary McCusker, a pastor of the church who knew the family, delivered the eulogy, reminding people to hold on to the good memories of the family.
“It needs to make a difference,” McCusker said. “We have been touched so we can touch others. They were about other people, and they’re gone, but their spirits are not.”
Yesenia Robles: yrobles@denverpost.com
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to a reporting error, the date of the New York funeral and
burial of the Behn family was incorrect. The funeral and burial are scheduled for Saturday.
