Family in Indiana mourns couples killed in Venice plane crash

Family and friends are remembering two couples killed in a sudden plane crash in the Gulf.

It happened just minutes after they took off from the Venice Airport, after traveling to the area from St. Petersburg for dinner.

They never made it back home and their family in Indiana is mourning their loss.

William Lumpkin, 64, Patricia Lumpkin, 68, Ricky Beaver, 60, and Elizabeth Beaver, 57, died in the crash, according to the Venice Police Department.

Randy Burrow said he grew up alongside his cousin Rick Beaver.

“The Beaver family has been in Noblesville for four, five generations. We were close. I would say more than close what you see modern families are now,” Burrow said.

Burrow said the Beaver family is a group of entrepreneurs.

Beth ran Indiana Elite Cheer and Tumbling in Noblesville.

The families she coached gathered outside the gym to grieve together after learning the news.

Rick was the president of Beaver Construction Management.

 “Rick was just part of it. Him and Beth both were just part of the Noblesville community, so missed, yeah,” Burrow said.

Lumpkin, known as Jeff to his pastor Nathan Peternel, was an avid pilot.

Both he and his wife Patricia were known for giving back to the community.

“He was a good pilot. He was by the book, man, by the book always, very safety oriented, very much regulation,” Peternel said.

Peternel said Patricia was a real estate agent who was always willing to help.

 “She’d bend over backwards to help people out. She waived fees at different times to, you know, in order to get families into something when they needed it,” Peternel said.

Burrow reminds everyone to have live each day to the fullest in this time of sadness.

“You’ve gotta spend every day like it’s your last because you never know when it’s over,” he said.

Florida authorities say the two couples were having dinner in Venice before returning back to St. Petersburg in the plane.

They crashed about three minutes after taking off at 9:35 p.m.

Police found Jeff and Rick first. The next day they found Beth and Patricia.

An investigation is underway to find out what caused the crash.