Remembering Shelley Voges: Boonville woman killed in Arizona bus crash

BOONVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - On January 22, a tour bus crash near Las Vegas, Nevada took the life of 53-year-old Shelley Voges of Boonville.

[PREVIOUS: Person killed in Grand Canyon bus crash identified as Boonville woman]

Friends say she had a passion for serving her community, and just days after the news broke, one of Voges’ fellow volunteers is speaking out in her honor.

Inside the Warrick County Christian Resource Center, volunteers continue the work of their former director.

“Shelley was the most giving heart I have ever met,” says Food Pantry Director Jeff Conn. “She would spend her time trying to talk you through your problems and find a solution. Find a resource that would be able to help you if we could not.”

Conn says the center provides resources like food, internet, and even laundry services to anyone in the community, but he says for Voges, it was more than just helping out.

“She was here to make sure that nobody went without ,” says Conn. “Nobody left here needing.”

But on January 22, while out west with her son and husband, tragedy struck.

The tour bus carrying the Boonville family rolled over. According to local authorities, Voges died at the scene.

[PREVIOUS: Bus heading to Grand Canyon rolls over; 1 dead, 2 critical]

“It hit me very hard,” says Conn. “I didn’t know what to think, say or do, because it was such an immediate tragedy.”

Even in the midst of tragedy, volunteers gather here with grateful hearts to continue the work, and honor the legacy, of Shelley Voges.

“I hope everyone remembers her smile,” says Conn, “and remembers how loving and giving she was.”

Conn says he believes faith and the community’s support is helping Voges’ family get through this difficult time.

There is now a Go Fund Me in her honor.

Officials in Arizona say the investigation into what caused the crash is still under investigation.

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