A Kansas businessman, his wife and their four children were killed 
Thursday when their small plane crashed into a swampy area of central 
Florida, and word quickly spread to their hometown where the family was 
known for their charitable work and always having a house full of 
neighborhood kids.
The single-turboprop, fixed-wing plane was heading home to Junction 
City from the Bahamas when it broke apart and went down about 12:30 p.m.
 in the Tiger Creek Preserve, according to the Polk County Sheriff's 
Office in Florida.
         
         Deputies reached the area by helicopters, but it was clear 
there were no survivors, the sheriff's office said. The cause of the 
crash wasn't immediately known, and parts of the plane were found nearly
 3  1/2 miles away, investigators said.
Ron Bramlage, a prominent businessman in Junction City who owned 
Roadside Ventures LLC, was piloting the 2006 Pilatus Pc-12/47. The 
45-year-old, his wife, Rebecca, 43, and the couple's children – Brandon,
 15; Boston, 13; Beau, 11; and 8-year-old Roxanne – were killed.
"It's just a horrific loss," Junction City Mayor Pat Landes said, 
adding that the couple supported many local projects and provided 
college scholarships. The family was well known in town and at Kansas 
State University, where the basketball arena is named for Ron Bramlage's
 grandfather.
At least two dozen bouquets of flowers lined the black wrought-iron 
fence surrounding the family's ranch-style home by Thursday evening. A 
trampoline sat in the front lawn, and a hammock hung between two large 
trees in the wooded yard.
Standing in his front yard across the street, Rick Bazan said he'd 
been friends with Ron Bramlage since childhood. He said his friend would
 often help local families financially, such as paying for kids to go to
 wrestling camps if their parents couldn't afford to send them.
He said Rebecca, who was president of the local school board, "never 
stopped working. She was tireless." She would be embarrassed by the 
outpouring of support now at her home, where at least a half-dozen 
friends of the couple's children were always running around, Bazan said.
"It's going to be a long time getting over this one," he said as he watched the family's neighbors and friends gather outside.
 
Bella
 Omann, 14, who went to middle school with the two younger boys, said 
Beau "was really the funniest kid I've ever met." She had an advanced 
geometry class with Boston, whom she said "loved reading books. We would
 always talk about our favorite books," including the Harry Potter 
novels. He read so much, she said, that their teacher wouldn't allow 
extra material on students' desks to keep him from reading.