Community recalls young men who died were ‘full of life’
Senior Rev. Steven Franklin of the Meridian Presbyterian Church said he can still recall what Joshua Boettner was like when he was 5 years old. The pastor described Boettner as a happy and funny child who always seemed to have an infectious smile on his face.
“He always seemed to be filled with joy,” Franklin said.
Boettner, 19, of Butler Township, along with Ronald Parisi, 21, of Chicora, and Levi Deal, 17, of Butler, died in a crash about 8 p.m. Saturday, June 8, in Athens Township in Crawford County. Members of the community and friends and family members close to the three young men have said the loss has left their communities “devastated.”
“(Boettner) just started training in HVAC and was excited about what the future held,” Franklin said. “And now we mourn, as that will never be and that’s what we’re all trying to process as a community.”
According to police, Parisi was driving a 2008 Scion TC on Centerville Road west of Parker Hill Road in Athens Township and traveled south off the road before crashing into a tree. In the crash report, police listed safety equipment for each person in the vehicle as “none used/not applicable.”
Parisi, the eldest of the trio, was a graduate of Butler Senior High School and worked at Chicora Hardware. He has been described by his friends and family as funny and easy going.
Jennifer Oesterling, his boss at the hardware store, said Parisi was one of her best employees who had a kind and sincere nature and was always willing to go out of his way to help.
“He was like another son to me,” Oesterling said through tears. “All the customers loved him; he was so helpful ... It’s so hard.”
Parisi was an avid lover of things with a motor. He enjoyed riding dirt bikes, sports cars, off-roading and “Jeeping.” The young man also enjoyed the outdoors, fishing, music and spending time with his friends and family.
Ryan Oesterling, Jennifer Oesterling’s son and Parisi’s friend, said he is going to miss seeing his friend’s grin every morning before the two got ready for work.
“He was good-hearted, always happy and always in good spirits” Ryan Oesterling said.
Services for Parisi will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, June 17, at Spencer D. Geibel Funeral Home, 140 New Castle Road in Butler.
Boettner was the second eldest of the three and graduated from the Butler Area Senior High School and the Honor Society from Butler Area Vocational-Technical School for HVAC in 2023.
Also an enthusiast of motors and the outdoors, Boettner enjoyed riding dirt bikes, fishing, hunting and hanging out with his friends and family. Boettner worked at HP Metal Works with his cousin Hunter Ploski, who said it’s been hard dealing with the death of his cousin.
“I don’t know what to say,” Ploski said. “He was like a brother to me.”
The Boettner family, who are members of the Meridian Presbyterian Church, are asking that, in lieu of flowers, people make donations to the church in Josh’s honor to support the youth group’s annual mission trips.
The youths travel each year to a different place around the United States to help in low-income areas or places that have been impacted by natural disasters.
“Josh went every year,” Franklin said. “Those trips were life changing for Josh, and the family wanted to give other people that opportunity and experience.”
A funeral ceremony for him will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 15, at the Meridian Presbyterian Church, 4150 Highland Ave. in Butler, with Franklin officiating.
The youngest member of the friend group, Levi Deal, was born in Butler on Oct. 14, 2006. Levi was an HVAC student going into his senior year of high school and had passed his EPA certification a year early.
Levi worked alongside his father at Fire-n-Ice Heating and enjoyed working on vehicles.
When he was not working, Levi enjoyed hunting, fishing and hanging out with his friends including his dog, Demon — who was his best friend — and his cat, Kit Kat.
Kara Sroka, a special education teacher at Butler Senior High School, said she met Levi within her “first five minutes at the intermediate school,” and she got to know his character and how he interacted with other students and teachers in their time there.
Levi’s funeral was held on Thursday at the Spencer D. Geibel Funeral Home in Butler.
