MacGregor Park in Westfield will serve as the location for a trailhead marker to honor Liam and Reece Kelly, who died in a plane crash in September 2020. Liam and Reece were members of the Westfield High School (WHS) cross country team and enjoyed running on the trails at MacGregor Park.
The memorial will be located at the start of the trail on the east side of the back parking lot by a grouping of three trees.
The dedication of the memorial will take place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 10 at MacGregor Park.
Danielle Carey Tolan, Westfield Washington Township Trustee and Park Governor, noted, “We know that Reece and Liam enjoyed running at MacGregor Park and we are honored to be able to partner with the community to place a memorial at a location that was meaningful to the entire WHS cross country team.”
The idea for the memorial came about last fall after the WHS cross country team placed an ornament with a photo of the Kelly brothers on the “Christmas Tree” at the back of MacGregor Park. Kyler Koning, cross country teammate and friend, realized that there should be a larger presence to honor the boys. Kyler and his father, Brian, presented an idea to the parks board asking to place a memorial plaque at the trailhead.
“Once we got the approval, I created a design and we began working with a plaque company out of Michigan”, Brian said. “Kyler and I then started a GoFundMe and raised the $3,700 needed to purchase the plaque.”
Aaron Sherrick, a longtime family friend of the Kellys, designed and created the structure to hold the plaque.
The Kelly family has seen an outpouring of love by the community.
“It is so meaningful to us that our community is working together to keep the memory of Liam and Reece alive,” Kesha Kelly said. “We are grateful for this community of friends who love our boys and continue to support us in our grief walk.”