The University of Chicago student killed with her parents when their single-engine plane crashed at Rantoul Airport had been offered volleyball scholarships at a number of colleges but turned them down for a school that didn't, a close family friend said this morning.

Morgan Buerkett, 19, opted for the U. of C. because she liked the combination of the school’s volleyball program and its academic excellence, Leslie Lux said.

Morgan had just finished her freshman year and hadn't yet decided what she wanted to focus her studies on, Lux said.

"She was so talented in so many ways," Lux said.

Morgan's parents, Jon Buerkett, 56, and Dana Buerkett, 47, all of Champaign, were taking Morgan to a fitness camp sponsored by an athletic gear company where Morgan was to model clothing, Lux said. Then her parents were going to Sarasota, where they owned a condo, said Tom Fiedler, a longtime friend and business partner of Jon Buerkett.

The family frequently flew, having vacation homes not only in Florida but in the Ozarks, Lux added. "Jon was a meticulous flyer. He'd plan everything out a day ahead of time. He was a very safe pilot," she said.

His Piper PA 46 plane was taking off from the airport when it crashed shortly before 9:30 a.m. Sunday, said Roland Herwig, an Oklahoma-based spokesman for the FAA. When emergency crews arrived, they found the plane engulfed in flames, according to police.

Lux said a small storm was moving in and Jon Buerkett was attempting to get out of Rantoul before it hit. But wind shear flipped the tail, sending the plane down on its nose, first into a power line, then the ground, she said.

Buerkett was a successful businessman in the Champaign area, Lux said. He and Fiedler co-owned Melody Music, a provider of coin-operated music and amusement equipment to area bars and restaurants. He also was part-owner of Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham in Champaign, Lux said, and had an interest in an apartment complex.

"He was real good at recognizing a need and finding a way to fill it," Fiedler said.

But most of all, he continued, Buerkett was a family man who adored his wife and daughters. Surviving is a daughter, Ashley, 26, who works as a graphic designer in Chicago, Lux said.

"Everything he did ... was to provide for his family, to make their life better and to give them opportunities," Fiedler said.

Dana Buerkett was active in a number of charities, as well as her church and civic organizations, Lux said. She had owned and run a public relations firm but eventually sold it. Most recently, she was working as as a public relations consultant.

"She was fantastic at it," Lux, 47, of Rantoul said.

University of Chicago Undergraduate Dean of Students Susan Art informed students in an email today that Buerkett had died along with her parents in a private plane crash on Sunday and said the college community was experiencing, "great sadness."

"She will be painfully missed," said Art.

Buerkett, who lived in Woodward house on campus during her first year, was a member of the volleyball team and belonged to the Delta Gamma sorority, said Art. She said counselors were available to other students and said a campus memorial service will be planned for this fall, said Art.

Two family dogs, Fran and Stan, also died in the crash.

Robert Jordan is a WGN-TV reporter. Becky Schlickerman is a Tribune reporter

chicagobreaking@tribune.com