Friends, family remember plane crash victims
ROCK FALLS, Ill. — Lydia Silva loved to travel and was committed to helping people in need, and a trip to Guatemala as part of a humanitarian mission to build a schoolhouse in a remote area was a unique opportunity to do both, her brother Valentine Silva said Wednesday.
But she never got that chance. Silva, 29, of Rock Falls, and Jeffery Reppe, 26, of Lyndon, were among 11 people killed Sunday when their small airplane crashed while attempting an emergency landing about 60 miles east of Guatemala City.
Silva and Reppe were co-workers at Focus Communications in Rock Falls. They had been chosen by the company to participate in the trip organized by CHOICE Humanitarian, a Utah-based group that arranges humanitarian missions throughout the world.
Silva and Reppe applied for the trip and had to submit a written essay as part of the application, said Travis Brown, the company’s Midwest Regional Director.
Brown said news of the crash was an “unbelievable shock” to the Rock Falls office, where Reppe was the site director and Silva was a trainer. He said the office was closed for business Monday, but many employees showed up to seek support from one another.
“We just kind of huddled around and shared fond memories and cried on each other’s shoulders,” Brown said.
Brown said most of the call center’s 120 employees returned to work Tuesday, but some were not ready to return. He said the company likely will continue to offer counseling services on site through next week.
Brown said both Reppe and Silva were dedicated employees and were well-liked in the office.
Valentine Silva said his sister got her dedication to helping others, as well as her love of cooking, from their mother, Rita, who died of breast cancer in 2001. He said she tried to do both just as her mother would have.
He said Lydia was very excited about the trip to Guatemala.
“She talked about it a lot,” he said.
Valentine Silva said it has not yet been determined who will get custody of his sister’s 11-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter.
Reppe’s family referred questions to Brown.
Officials from Guatemala and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash, but no cause has been determined, said Lew Swain, a board member for CHOICE Humanitarian.
Swain said the deaths were a “tragic loss,” but said the organization will continue to organize humanitarian missions, including one to Guatemala to finish the schoolhouse Reppe and Silva were to help build.
Services for Silva and Reppe are pending at McDonald Funeral Home in Rock Falls.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Steven Martens can be contacted at (563) 659-2595 or smartens@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.