Everly, Alydia, Donna and Peter Livingston, 4 of the passengers on American Airways flight 5342, are being remembered by associates.

The Livingston household was headed to Washington, D.C., from Wichita, Kan., on the night of Wednesday, Jan. 29, when an American Airways regional passenger aircraft was struck midair by a U.S. Military Black Hawk Helicopter close to Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport. The tragic collision had no survivors and is the deadliest airplane incident within the U.S. since 2001.

The helicopter carried three troopers, whereas the flight carried 60 passengers and 4 crew members, together with the Livingston household. Everly, 14, and Alydia, 11, have been sisters who competed with the Washington Determine Skating Membership and have been attending a Kansas competitors. Their mother and father, Donna and Peter, joined them on the occasion. 

On Friday, Jan. 31, Peter’s pal Ted Boyke completely tells PEOPLE that his late pal “put his household first” and that Donna and his daughters have been “the whole lot to him.”

Boyke, who had recognized Peter since highschool, says he and his pal have been “lifelong buddies.” 

“Pete was a man who was obsessed with ice skating or about passing it on to his daughters. He was the kind of man who would provide you with a wild plan and also you’d say, ‘That sounds nice, however it should by no means occur.’ After which he would exit and obtain it,” Boyke, 48, recollects of his pal. 

Boyke tells PEOPLE that when Everly was born, Peter “talked about constructing an ice rink within the yard and getting her began ice skating.” 

“I assumed, ‘That is unbelievable, however that can by no means work. How will you have an ice rink in your yard?’ ” Boyke recollects. “He not solely did it … however then his daughters went on to be elite ice skaters.”

Boyke reveals that Peter, additionally an avid hockey participant, named the rink the Livingston Ice Rink.

“He was recognized for each winter [for] placing down a tarp, boarding it off, pouring water into an ice rink that will freeze within the Virginia winters, and his daughters would follow there,” Boyke tells PEOPLE. “Throughout COVID, they have been in a position to follow that approach when the ice rinks have been closed briefly.”

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Peter liked being an actual property agent as a result of it allowed him versatile hours in order that “he could possibly be there to assist his daughters prepare in ice skating [and] take them to meets and competitions,” Boyke says.

“He put them first. He was actually obsessed with that, and about their enjoyment of ice skating,” Boyke provides. “What I am attempting to take from this tragic loss is that in case you have a wild dream otherwise you’re obsessed with one thing in life, simply go for it.”

“That is what Pete did, and that is the instance I wish to observe,” he says.