Shannon Fortier loved adventure, and the Air Force Junior ROTC inspired her dreams. She wanted to be a pilot.

As a Lewiston High School freshman, Fortier already felt the military calling. She planned to be an Air Force pilot when she grew up.

She had big dreams, and she had the will and talent to make them come true.

But those dreams ended last Thursday during an ROTC summer camp field trip. Fortier, 15; Nicholas Babcock, 17; Teisha Loesberg, 16; and pilot William Charles Weir, 24, were killed when their small plane crashed on Barker Mountain in Newry.

On Wednesday, hundreds of people gathered at Holy Family Church in Lewiston – where Fortier had been an altar server – to mourn and remember the youngest of the ROTC three.

“She was one of those people who was capable of being a leader by example, who was able to get the job done in a quiet way,” said high school Principal Gus LeBlanc after Fortier’s funeral. “And in the process, she got the respect of those around her.”

Friends and family remembered Fortier as a bright, friendly teenager who was outgoing with friends and quiet with others.

“Everybody loved her when they met her,” said 18-year-old Heather Larrivee, Fortier’s longtime friend.

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