Scott Tezak Remembered as Seeker of Joy

Scott Tezak lived every moment of his life. He did so with a smile on his face. This was the message shared by Rev. Mark Fracaro and Scott Tezak's mother Friday morning at his memorial service.

"Scott had love for life and joy and enjoyment in life," Fracaro said.

Scott Tezak died May 6, when his single-engine Czech Sport plane crashed near Spring Hill, Fla. Tom Tezak, Scott's father, said Scott Tezak had been ferrying the plane down to Florida for a friend and client, and was on his way back home when something went wrong.

Hernando County, Fla., sheriff’s deputies found the 23-year-old pilot, of the 500 block of Hannigan Drive, dead by the side of a road in Spring Hill. His plane had crashed about half a mile away, in a wooded area, sheriff’s deputies said.

His funeral was Friday.

"Scott has always wanted to be in the sky, first it was an astronaut and since he was 5, it was a pilot," said Jackie Tezak, Scott's mother.

Jackie Tezak went on to highlight her son's relationship with his fiance Samantha Gnatz and said his daughter Maddie was Scott's greatest accomplishment.

"I'm so glad that Scott had the pleasure to take Maddie up in a plane and share that together," she said.

She shared that she asked God to give her children long, healthy lives and that they enjoy what they chose to do. She believes, despite Tezak's death, God answered her prayers.

"So, when I am sitting on my deck on a clear, blue day and a plane flies overhead, I will think of Scott as he used to fly over our house and dip his wing at me," she said.