Cheerleading community mourns Indiana coach who died in Florida plane crash
NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — Remembrances on Friday were rippling through Noblesville as the community mourns one of two couples killed in a small plane crash off the coast of Florida.
Bethe Beaver, 57, a beloved cheerleading coach at Indiana University, and her husband, Rick Beaver, 60, died Wednesday night in the plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico near Venice, Florida. The Beavers were from Noblesville.
Tearful hugs were shared outside of Indiana Elite Cheer & Tumbling, a Noblesville recreation center. In a growing memorial for Bethe, flowers filled an entire bench in front of the door, chalk art filled the ground with messages of love, and posters were all over the outside of the center with similar messages.
Alyssa Yokas started going to Indiana Elite Cheer & Tumbling when she was 10. She is now a freshman and a cheerleader at Indiana University. “Behind me here is the cheer and tumbling gym where Bethe Beaver left her mark on young girls in the community. Now, some of those same young girls are coming back here to pay their respects.”
Yokas described some of the moments Bethe would text words of encouragement before every game. She says that speaks on her character, and Bethe impacted anyone she interacted with. “Anyone that walks in this door, anyone on the IU team, anyone in this whole community, she knows everyone and she makes an impact on everyone’s lives.”
The Beaver family told News 8 on Friday that it was not ready to speak about their loved ones but would release a statement in the coming day.
William Lumpkin, 64, and his wife, Patricia Lumpkin, 68, of Fishers, were the other couple from Indiana also killed in the plane crash.
The couples had traveled to the Venice area from St. Petersburg, Florida, according to police. They were returning from dinner to St. Petersburg when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff, Venice police said Thursday.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash to determine what caused it.