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Moms dedicate bench to lost sons
By Paul Boerger
Updated: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 5:15 PM PDT
There is a new stone bench facing Mount Shasta at Bunny Flat just above the parking lot. When you sit in it, think of Kevin Keane and Travis Whitaker, killed in an automobile crash on their way home to the Sacramento area after climbing the mountain on August 31st 2003. Both boys were born in 1985.
"Who fulfilled their dream of reaching the summit of Mount Shasta August 31st, 2003," the plaque on the bench reads.
Keane's mother, Ellen Thielman, and Whitaker's mother, Glee Johnson, came to install and dedicate the bench to their children July 15th amid tears and fond memories of their sons.
"They were backpacking buddies," Whitaker said. "They were very close."
"They connected on their love of nature," Thielman said.
The bench was donated by the two mothers and installed with the assistance of the Friends of the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center. The two mothers also founded a scholarship program with the FMSAC for avalanche safety education.
"It's a perfect fitting tribute to their sons," said FMSAC coordinator Keith Potts.
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