‘Meant the world to me’: Family, friends remember mom, boys who died at Kansas motocross track
The Richey family of Haysville was big into motocross, friends said.
Now that community as well as other family and friends are mourning the deaths of mom Felecia Richey and two boys, Tysin and Bentley.
The three were found dead Saturday in a camper in Inman, where the family was attending the Kansas Motocross Championship series. Kip Pohlman, Felecia’s father, told an Eagle reporter that investigators had said the three had died from “asphyxiation from carbon monoxide poisoning.”
“A close moto family suffered a tragedy,” the championship series said in a Facebook post. “please keep them in your prayers.”
Dad Jason Richey, a sponsored professional motocross rider, was in the competition. Tysin, 13, and Bentley, 10, also rode. The family includes 3-year-old Grayson.
“The family constantly revolved around the dirt bike world,” family friend Chelsey Henry said.
“Felecia was an amazing mother to those boys,” Henry said.
Bentley was in the fifth grade at Freeman Elementary School in Haysville. Tysin was in eighth grade and attended Haysville Middle School, USD 261 spokesperson Adia Ludwig said.
“They were all in motocross,” Pohlman said. “She [Felecia] took pictures of them and was just happy when she was at the track with them.”
A Facebook page titled “Richey Photography” showed various albums of young and adult motocross riders.
“She ended up getting really big into that [photography],” Henry said. “She started doing it for the whole motocross family... for all the riders out there.”
‘She meant the world to me’
Pohlman said he and his daughter were close and spoke often. He learned about the deaths from Felecia’s mother, Karla.
“When I got the call, I was in disbelief,” Pohlman said. “I’m still not sure what to think about the whole thing.”
Pohlman last saw his daughter last week when the two were at Felecia’s grandfather’s house.
“She came up to my dad’s house to pick up some mementos,” Pohlman said. “We spent a little time together and kind of reminiscing about different things.”
Pohlman said Felecia was pregnant and was due around sometime in April.
“She was very kind-hearted and loved her boys to death,” Pohlman said. “She meant the world to me.”
A loss to the motocross community
Chris Chippeaux, another family friend, said he last spent time with the Richey family on Aug. 3 for his daughter Evelyn’s second birthday. He remembered Evelyn wanting to be near Felecia.
“She got to the point where she didn’t want me or mom anymore,” Chippeaux said. “She clamped to Felecia the whole night for hours and wouldn’t let her go, so that’s kind of what’s been running through my head lately.”
Chippeaux, who met Richey at a young age riding bikes, said he headed to Inman when he got a call about the deaths. He had coached Tysin and Bentley on their riding and would give them a pep talk at the starting line.
“I thought the hardest part was coming back from the track Saturday with the boys’ bikes in the back of my truck,” Chippeaux said.
“That’s my baby girl”
Henry met Jason Richey on the track in 2011. Her husband Blake and Richey raced dirt bikes together.
Henry was on her way to Inman on Saturday when she received the call.
After she got there, she was told that Felecia’s dog, Ellie, had also died. Later in the day, word got out that Ellie had survived.
“My husband and I ran over there as they were pulling Ellie out of the camper,” Henry said. “She was lethargic and could hardly walk.”
After taking her to a veterinarian in Hutchinson, Henry delivered Ellie to Jason Richey on Monday night. Henry said Richey burst into tears.
“When I pulled up to the house, he did not see that I had Ellie yet,” Henry said. “As I got out of the car, he grabbed Ellie and just squeezed her really tight and said ‘that’s my baby girl.’ ”
Henry said Ellie was Felecia’s dog and never left her side. “I believe that Felecia and the boys left her behind for a reason.”
How to support the Richey family
Two separate GoFundMe fundraisers were created by Henry and another family friend to help pay for funeral expenses and support Richey and Grayson.
“My family and I grew up with Jason Richey,” one GoFundMe said. “He’s been a dear friend of ours for many years.”
The other GoFundMe, which has raised nearly $50,000, said “we are asking for your prayers, support and love as he [Jason] and his 3-year-old son navigate through this devastating time.”
Bar2Bar, a motocross track in Maize, will hold a celebration of life for the Richey family on Sept. 30 starting at 10 a.m. at 7800 W. 61st St. N. A dinner will be served at 4 p.m.
“The motocross community is coming together and we’re going to have an organized practice,” Bar2Bar track operations manager Bruce Richardson said. “We’ll then have a dinner with all the proceeds going to the funerals.”
Richardson said he’s known Richey for 15 years.
“The motocross community in Kansas is collectively one big family,” Richardson said. “We know each other, we know everybody’s kids and we help each other out continuously and on a regular basis.”
A public viewing will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Baker Funeral Home in Valley Center, 100 S. Cedar Ave.
This story was originally published September 21, 2023 at 5:53 AM.