‘She loved big and gave big’: Family remembers life of Myrtle Beach teen killed in crash
Kelsey McGhee marched to the beat of her own drum — some say that’s a rarity at 19 years old.
She had a let’s-make-it-happen attitude.
She was a leader who did not succumb to peer pressure. Instead, she was the designated driver for friends — the friend who would pick you up when you were down and help you keep chugging along.
“What made her most special was she wanted the people around her to succeed too,” said her mother, Cindy McGhee. “Kelsey was just different. She broke the mold in every way.”
Kelsey McGhee’s spirit overflowed with creativity. She had a spirit for crafting and designing decor around her family home, and she had hopes of becoming an interior designer and remodeler.
A Myrtle Beach native, she accomplished many creative projects, showed leadership and spread her faith during her nearly two decades on earth. McGhee died in a car crash on U.S. 501 near Sparks Toyota on May 22. She left behind proud parents, younger twin siblings, a boyfriend of nearly five years, and many loving family members and close friends.
Kelsey McGhee’s parents noticed she was beyond her years when at 5 years old she watched as her mother was on bed rest for 11 weeks during a pregnancy with twins. It was then, Kelsey McGhee and her father, Dave, formed such a close relationship.
“Kelsey had to grow up real fast,” her father said. Each day, he picked her up from school on the golf cart, got her a snack, and then headed back to work, sometimes taking her along with him. The relationship grew, and they later began a family woodworking business. Together, she created the design, and her father did the building.
“She could sell it quicker than I could build it,” he said.
Most recently, the two designed and built outside tables for restaurants reopening following the coronavirus pandemic shutdown. The tables helped restaurants accommodate outside guests, especially before indoor dining started back up.
Though the pandemic was a strain for many, Cindy McGhee said there have been good things to come out of the situation, such as having Kelsey home from her sophomore year at Clemson University the last three months of her life due schools being closed.
“It was the biggest blessing of my life,” she said.
Since high school, McGhee and her boyfriend Jackson Denny have had a loving relationship, said Denny’s mother, Laurie.
“She was a huge part of our family,” Laurie Denny said. “She didn’t have to knock on the door.
“Overall, she loved big and gave big.”
Family and friends held a service to celebrate McGhee’s life on May 25, when her grandfather Charles Douglas shared memories with the crowd.
“From the time Kelsey was born, she had this bright star about her,” he said during the service. “Even when she was little, she was special.”
McGhee graduated from Carolina Forest High School and attended the Savannah College of Art and Design her freshman year of college before transferring to Clemson.
She majored in construction science, along with longtime friend Addison Dicks. She helped with homework and making class schedules for the upcoming semesters, Dicks said. She would always put a notebook or laptop on the desk beside her in class to save a spot for Dicks.
“She did a lot of things for a lot of people without recognition. And she would just do it,” he said.
After the fatal crash in late May, McGhee’s organs benefited at least 45 people, her father said. Dicks said he believes Kelsey put thought into checking the box to donate her organs when she filled out her driver’s license paperwork, with the intention of wanting to help others.
McGhee loved everyone around her, said longtime friend Madalyn Wellons. One of their most memorable moments, Wellons said, was the last trip they took to go skiing in January.
“The moments with her were special then. But they are very special now,” Wellons said. “Never take anything for granted.”
This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 10:30 AM.
