HOUSTON — It’s a tough day for the St. John’s School community in Houston.
The school, family and friends mourn a beloved lacrosse coach and her husband.
Angie and Stuart Kensinger were killed April 22 after the plane they were on crashed near Kerrville. The pilot and three others, all from Houston, also died in the crash.
Hundreds gathered to pay their respects in Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church on Wednesday. Hymns echoed off walls as a community filled the pews to remember the couple.
“Angie made you feel special regardless of who you were or where you came from," said Electra Tortorella, Angie Kensinger’s older sister.
Tortorella and her other sister, Eliza Eppli, shared anecdotes that would bring smiles to people’s faces rather than tears.
“Like the time we convinced Angie that fertilizer in the garage was Peter Pan flying dust as we sprinkled it in her hair," Eppli said.
The sisters also wrapped up Angie Kensinger’s 20-year legacy as the St. John’s School varsity girls lacrosse coach through the words of one her former players.
“You cared more about shaping us into good and kind people then winning but we still won because we wanted to win for you,” Eppli said. “You shaped my life in the most simple yet profound ways.”
Stuart Kensinger’s business partner, Frank Donnelly, spoke about the impact he made on his life.
“He praised my achievements and counseled me through challenges,” Donnelly said. “Stuart was such a great friend. What can I say? I loved going to work because Stuart was there.”
Donnelly said Stuart Kensinger's death has rocked the lives of those who knew them.
“Since learning of this loss that we are all experiencing, I’ve been in pain right here, and I wouldn’t give it up, because it means Stuart was in my life," he said.
However, it was Angie and Stuart Kensinger’s son, Phillip, who touched people the most reflecting on their last time as a family.
“Just 10 days ago for Easter. It has given me chills because there could not have been a more perfect weekend together,” Phillip Kensinger said.
He joked about being dragged to a lacrosse game.
“I got to watch her one last time doing what I’ve seen her do my entire life,” he said. “Getting excited and involved in their game even though she didn’t have to be there.”
Phillip Kensinger, a pilot himself, will forever cherish the adventures he had with his dad.
“There’s no co-pilot I loved having more next to me than my dad, and I’ll always think of those fun trips every time I take off in the future,” Phillip Kensinger said.
It’s a future that starts with heartbreak but will hopefully heal with time.
“The unfulfilled plans hurt the most,” Phillip Kensinger said. “The unfulfilled promise of them being the best grandparents ever like they constantly told me they would.”
He challenges everyone now to continue to laugh and joke around as his dad would and to look out for other as his mom did.
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