New Jersey father remembers his six-year-old’s ‘lively’ personality before fatal accident

The father of a 6-year-old New Jersey girl who died of head trauma after a crazy accident with a badminton racket on the last day of a family vacation recalled his daughter’s “bubbly” personality and the afternoon their family changed forever.

Jesse Morgan, whose 6-year-old daughter Lucy died unexpectedly while playing with her siblings, shared memories of his daughter with Fox News Digital.

“She had a very lively personality but was also reserved at times,” he said. “Once you got to know her, she was very, very open and very funny. She was a tough kid and played football very hard.”

6-year-old New Jersey girl dies in tragic badminton accident, four weeks after asking “how I can come to God and be saved.”

Lucy Morgan, 6, during a family vacation in Maine. (Jesse Morgan via New Creation Living Blog)

Jesse remembered looking at pictures of Lucy with his daughter and his wife Bethany.

“My wife just said that her beauty is captivating. Some of these pictures are just stunning and she has an incredible personality,” he said.

Jesse remembered that Lucy was the “main cuddler” of the family of six.

“I remember she came to you with her hair all messy and just wanted to sit with you for a long time. She wasn’t restless, she just wanted to lie with you and snuggle up to you.”

Lucy with her three siblings on vacation in Maine. Lucy told her parents on the day of the accident that it had been the “best week of her life.” (Jesse Morgan via New Creation Living Blog)

Lucy with her two brothers and father on vacation in Limerick, Maine. Lucy was flown by rescue helicopter to a nearby children’s hospital and then transferred to a hospital in Portland, Maine. (Jesse Morgan via New Creation Living Blog)

Jesse, a pastor at Green Pond Bible Chapel in Rockaway, New Jersey, told Fox News Digital the family vacation was part of his sabbatical.

Pastor from Dallas talks about his experience with depression and asks others to seek help: “Don’t hesitate”

“We were in our first week (of our sabbatical) and she said it was the best week of her life,” he said. “We did so many fun things.”

Photos shared by the family show Lucy and her three siblings, Silas, Shiloh and Atticus, fishing and kayaking in Limerick, Maine, before the tragedy struck.

“In her opinion, it was the best week of her life.”

Lucy and her mother, Bethany and her sister. Jesse Morgan said he and his wife were reading and relaxing when the badminton accident happened. (Jesse Morgan via New Creation Living Blog)

The family’s idyllic vacation came to an abrupt end on May 30th after the family had enjoyed a leisurely lunch.

Jesse said he and his wife were reading and relaxing in the backyard and the children were playing badminton when their son came to them “very worried.”

“We went outside and saw what had happened. It was just an indescribable horror that went from so much silence and calm to an incredibly traumatic experience,” Jesse said.

Four days later, Lucy succumbed to her injuries, the family said. (Jesse Morgan via New Creation Living Blog)

Lucy was unexpectedly hit when the shaft of the bat used by her ten-year-old brother broke and flew into her skull.

“Due to a freak accident involving a racket that broke on the downswing, a sharp piece penetrated Lucy’s skull while she was sitting on the sidelines, causing catastrophic injuries,” Jesse explained in a series of blog posts on his blog. Living in the new creation. “She was still breathing but did not respond as I held her and Bethany cried out to God.”

American missionaries killed by Haitian gangs “gave everything” for the people there: family

Lucy was taken to a local hospital before being transferred to a hospital in Portland, Maine.

Lucy kept a prayer journal in which she wrote and drew. (Jesse Morgan via New Creation Living Blog)

Four days after the accident, Lucy succumbed to her injuries.

“After extensive, thorough testing and even more repeat testing to confirm, brain death was declared at 1:32 a.m. on June 5th and her heart stopped beating around 4 a.m.,” Jesse wrote.

“Lucy was with Jesus.”

The parents held on to the hope that Lucy “believed in the death and resurrection of Jesus.”

“Lucy was with Jesus.”

South Carolina woman’s hand amputated after burns in unusual hairdryer accident

“Four weeks ago she asked Bethany how she could come to God and be saved,” Jesse wrote. “Bethany explained and offered to pray with her, but ‘Miss Independent’ wanted to do it herself. She went to her room and prayed to God to forgive her and to believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection.”

“What a gift,” he said.

Lucy Morgan wrote in her prayer journal: “God loves me.” (Jesse Morgan via New Creation Living Blog)

Lucy’s prayer journal also included drawings of the family and the Bible, her father said. (Jesse Morgan via New Creation Living Blog)

Jesse wrote that it was a comfort to him and his wife to find her prayer journal. It felt “like God was writing to her.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“How a six-year-old can write such diaries is a mystery to me. Afterwards, she seemed to have writer’s block and just drew beautiful pictures with Bible stories and hearts.”