‘Just the best kid’: Family mourns 20-year-old killed at Wellington power plant

WELLINGTON, Kan. (KSNW) — On Friday, the family of 20-year-old Wilson Price gathered to remember a beloved son, grandson and friend.

Price died Wednesday when he came into contact with an “energized piece of equipment” at the Wellington power plant where he worked. Now, friends and family share what they hope others may learn from the life of somebody they love.

The phone rang on Wednesday, a call every mother dreads.

“My husband called, hysterical. Somebody from the city of Wellington called, said, ‘There’s been an accident.’ We have to get to Wellington,” Blakeley Price, Lucas’ mother, said during a gathering of friends and family Friday. She immediately made the drive to her son’s work.

“Prayers. Lots and lots of prayers — hoping he’d be okay. But when reality set it, it just — that’s when it really started to hurt,” Blakeley said.

Holding on to what her son was like in life brings her as close to comfort as she can get.

“Wilson was just the light of everybody’s life. He touched everybody who got to know him,’ says Blakely. “He was always so positive, just the best kid, the best attitude. Everybody who knew him loved him.”

It’s a sentiment shared by everybody who attended the gathering, which close friends and family attended. Among them was Morgan Rousseau, a close friend from high school.

“He was like a best friend to me. I don’t think I realized how much he meant to me and how much I loved him until now,” says Rousseau. “It was an absolute privilege to be loved by him and cared about by him.”

It’s a heavy burden of grief shared by all who loved him. A burden they are grateful not to share alone.

“As long as we’re alive, he’s going to lie in a part of us forever,” Rousseau said.

For Blakeley Price, this is a sobering reminder to remember what’s important.

“Love your kids. Don’t ever take them for granted. You never know how much time you have left with them.”

Price had been an apprentice lineman working for the Wellington Electric Distribution Department since January. The exact cause of his death is still under investigation, which the Price family hopes will be resolved soon.

Wilson Price’s Funeral is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at United Methodist Church in Andover .

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