MCCONNELSVILLE — Small bunches of people stood in circles outside Matheney Funeral Home in McConnelsville as a line of mourners stretched an entire block of Kennebec Avenue.
They were trading stories of Hannah L. Lewis and Donnie J. Perry, two Morgan High School students who died in a Friday crash on Ohio 37 outside Malta. The visitation Tuesday night to celebrate Hannah's life continued what has already been a long and difficult week of remembrance and grief for the community.
Ameila Bartimus, a sophomore at Morgan High School, with tears welling in her eyes, stood on her tiptoes to look over the shoulder of her friend, sophomore Shaylyn Pierce. After contemplating how to best remember the legacy of Hannah and Donnie, whose names now and perhaps forever will go hand in hand, she settled on an answer.
"Just always bring up good memories of them," Ameila said as the tears let go of her eyelids to tumble down her cheeks. "They were never sad. They were always happy together."
Those good memories made lasting impressions on the hordes of people gathered to pay their final respects to Hannah.
Hannah, 16, played trumpet in the marching and concert bands at Morgan. Her friends said she cheered and played softball. But even more so than what Hannah did, friends identified with who she was.
"When you were around her, she was just always happy," Shaylyn said.
Friends described her as happy, loving and positive above all. She brought an infectious energy and spirit to whatever she did, they said.
Sophomore Alexus Masterson said the band largely contributed to Hannah's affable personality and cheerfulness.
"The band was really big in that," Alexus said. "They're like a big family. This has only brought them (the band) closer together."
Although the absence of Hannah's optimism was detectable in the lines of visitors with tears in their eyes, arms wrapped around shoulders, inching forward onto the shaded porch outside the funeral home, it maintained its presence in the stories shared by loved ones.
Morgan students — those who knew Hannah and those who didn't — as well as friends and family members laughed almost as much as they cried. They embraced in parking lots at the funeral home and on nearby streets, allowing happy memories to navigate their way to the forefront.
The case was the same at school, where Alexus said the hallways were silent when students returned to school Monday.
"It was like you go in and you know that something's wrong, something's missing," she said.
Living in the wake of tragedy was unfamiliar to them.
"It hits you when you go into class and see an empty desk in front of you," Shaylyn said.
But the support of the McConnelsville community, student body and school staff has been unparalleled, she said, making maintaining the memories of Hannah and Donnie much easier while coping with the sorrow of losing them.
"When you're a small town, you're all a team," Shaylyn said.
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