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Mark Openshaw was a role model, a good friend and "the perfect gentleman," according to his colleagues on the Utah Board of Education.
He would open doors, empty the trash and bring doughnuts to share during unending committee meetings.
"He was the peacemaker," board member Terryl Warner said. "He was the kind person. He was the calm person in difficult times."
Board members on Friday started their monthly meeting with a short tribute to Openshaw, who was killed June 12 in a plane crash along with his wife Amy and two of their children.
Warner opened the meeting by sharing stories about Openshaw she had collected from her colleagues. He was remembered as a jovial and sincere presence on the board, who cared deeply about Utah schools.
"I'm grateful for the example that Mark Openshaw was to each one of us," Warner said.
Visitors to Friday's board meeting were greeted by a small memorial. In addition to photographs of Openshaw and his family, the presentation included a model airplane, a baseball cap, a portrait of Abraham Lincoln and a Harley Davidson wall clock.
The Openshaw family live in Provo and had been visiting family in Missouri at the time of the crash, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol. Openshaw was piloting the small Beechcraft plane, and a witness told authorities that after the plane climbed to roughly 100 feet in the air, it stalled and fell to the ground.
Openshaw's 5-year-old son survived the crash and was hospitalized with serious injuries. Two older children were not with their family on the trip.
State School Board Chairman David Crandall told board members the rule for Friday's meeting was to focus on the positive memories of Openshaw's life rather than the tragic events of his death. He quoted Abraham Lincoln, saying it's better to rejoice that thorn bushes have roses than complain that rose bushes have thorns.
"No matter how much I miss him or how painful that memory might be," Crandall said, "I'll be forever grateful for having Mark Openshaw as a friend."