The family of two young brothers killed in a plane crash has established a scholarship foundation to support other students and athletes in the north Fulton area.
Donations are being accepted online for The James Ryan and Harrison Scholarship, according to an online obituary. James Ryan, 12, and Harrison, 10, were among five family members killed June 30 when their small plane crashed in Masonville, New York.
The Milton family was returning from a baseball tournament in Cooperstown, New York, at the time of the crash, which remains under investigation. Also killed were the boys’ parents, Ryan Van Epps, 42, and Laura Van Epps, 41, and their grandfather, Roger Hugh Beggs, 76, of Roswell. Beggs was the father of Laura Van Epps and was piloting the plane.
Ryan and Laura Van Epps were heavily involved in the King’s Ridge Christian School community in Alpharetta, along with the youth sports leagues where their boys played, friends said after the crash.
“They were part of so many communities within the community,” family friend Patrick Fullerton told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “They were all loved everywhere they went.”
James Ryan was a rising seventh grader and Harrison a rising fifth grader at King’s Ridge. Both were remembered as kind, well-mannered boys and talented athletes.
Laura and Ryan Van Epps both graduated from Roswell High School. Laura then attended the University of Georgia and Ryan the University of Tennessee.
Beggs was an alumnus of Northwestern University, where he earned a degree in chemical engineering. He recently retired from the Carl Eric Johnson Company after a 50-year career.
A funeral for all five family members is planned for Friday at 2 p.m. at Roswell United Methodist Church, the family’s obituary states. A private interment service will be held in the Green Lawn Cemetery of Roswell at a later date, and a celebration of life is planned for October.
In addition to the scholarship to honor the boys, the family requests donations be made in Ryan’s and Laura’s name to North Fulton charities, including Angel Flight Soars, Star House, The Drake House, or others.
“As we come together to honor the lives of this beautiful family, please feel free to wear bright and cheerful summer colors,” the obituary states.
Roswell Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
