MESA, AZ — A family in Mesa is heartbroken after losing a man who was a father, husband and brother. in a deadly plane crash.

Ray Longhi was driving near Falcon Field on Tuesday. He was in one of the vehicles that was hit by a small Honda jet while leaving the runway and entering traffic. Longhi died, along with four of the five people on the plane.

Longhi’s daughter is opening up and saying she wants people to remember her father the way he lived, not the tragic way he died.

With a mother who works for an airline, airplanes and traveling around the world have always been central aspects of Longhi’s family life. So years ago, it was only natural that Ray Longhi took a job at Boeing and they moved into his family home adjacent to Falcon Field.

“I’ve driven down the street hundreds of times and many of those times it was with my dad,” said Lorraine Longhi, Ray’s daughter. “Planes or helicopters would fly overhead as we drove down the road, and my dad knew everything about what model plane it was.”

That’s why Lorraine was so shocked to discover that a plane was what took her father’s life.

“I just couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that my father could have a plane crash next to the same airport where he had been living for decades,” Longhi said. “It was impossible for me to imagine that something like this could happen a kilometer from home.”

Ray was going to pick up his wife from work on Tuesday when, investigators say, a small plane jumped the runway and crashed into his car. His daughter quickly went to the scene.

“I just wanted to be with him and be close to him, because I loved him so much and I know he loved me so much,” she said.

His father was 67 years old. Longhi called it “larger than life.”

“Even though he was such a big guy, he was very goofy and good-natured, and he was always trying to make people laugh,” Longhi said.

She says she had plans, including spending time with her 1-year-old grandson, along with her wife and two children.

“My dad had more life to live. He had things he still wanted to do, that we still wanted to do with him,” Longhi said. “It’s so unfair and so absurd, but at the same time, I know my dad wouldn’t want us to think about it and sit in despair.”

Ray was a family man from the beginning, according to Longhi.

“My dad and all his siblings were adopted,” she said. He is survived by his two brothers and his mother.

Longhi says that because his father was adopted by a loving family in New York, the children’s home Acres of the Sun in Mesa It holds a special place in the heart.

“I think the mission really struck a chord,” Longhi said.

For children separated from their families, Sunshine Acres offers a safe place and caring guardians. Ray donated frequently. Now the family is asking for donations in his name.

“It would mean everything to him, you know, I think he cared about so many people,” Longhi said.

As a family silently mourns, they also face many questions.

“We are devastated, we are confused,” Longhi said. “We want to know what happened.”

Ray’s daughter now has a new perspective on the loss.

“My dad was more than the way he died. “The way he lived was the most special thing I have ever witnessed,” he said. “I just want people to take a minute to hug their dad or their kids.”

Holding on to small moments, in a sea of ​​memories.

Anyone who would like to make a donation to Sunshine Acres in Ray Longhi’s name. You can do it on your website. You can also drop off clothing and other items at the Children’s Home in Mesa.