Church Building New Playground In Honor Of Man Killed In Oklahoma City Plane Crash

Laura Labus is leaning on her family’s church to start a project geared towards bringing smiles to children’s faces.

“To my dad, I mentioned we should do a new playground at the church, and he told me it was a great idea and I should head it up,” Labus said.

Labus won’t be working on this with her father Brent Waguespack, instead, she will be doing it in his honor following his death in a small-engine plane crash in July.

Related Story: Two Injured After Plane Crash In NW Oklahoma City

“This was unfortunate for him to get to go be in this small plane and be a passenger and it went so wrong, but he was getting to do something that was really exciting to him,” Labus said.

Brent didn't just love aviation, he loved children. He worked as a crossing guard at a school which is why they want to restore the playground at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Northwest Oklahoma City, a church the family has attended for more than 15 years.

“It gets used by multiple classes each week. So, they will utilize the playground from about 9:30 in the morning until like two in the afternoon between the different classes. So, we do need to get something that's a little more age-appropriate for our littles,” Labus said.

“You get splinters on it when you play, so I think that as it's refurbished, we can do a lot more without the worries of kids getting hurt,” Pastor Stefanie Rowinski of St. Paul Lutheran Church said.

The playground will be called Poppie's Playground. Labus said that’s what Brent’s grandchildren called him. They're hoping to finish the project by next year.

“I think it will be one of those places where they can come and remember him and we get to continue reaping the fruit of the life that he lived,” Rowinski said.

Laura said she wants to raise twenty thousand dollars. She has around six thousand dollars so far. If you would like to donate you can CLICK HERE.