Jeffrey Grego killed in plane crash

Jeffrey Grego, 48, was killed August 26 when the small plane in which he was a passenger crashed at Corry-Lawrence Municipal Airport, in Corry, PA.. His 13-year-old daughter, Zoey, and the pilot survived. The pilot is the father of local drag performer Rhiannon Angelina.

Born October 15, 1957 in Shippensburg, PA and raised in Meadville. Jeffrey was the son of the late Janet Schwenk Deramo and the late Charles Schwenk.

Jeff is survived by his daughter Zoey, 13, his son Clay, 14, and his partner of 24 years, Joey Grego.

Jeff's historic fight to adopt Joey's two children resulted in the landmark Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling in 2002 that gave same-sex partners the right to second-parent adoption. The Gregos sought the right for a second parent adoption, along with Barbara and Carol Fryberger of Lancaster County. Previously, cases in Pennsylvania had been decided on a case by case basis.

Jeff and Joey were devoted parents, and had raised their children since infancy. One former co-worker of Jeff's recalled that Jeff came to work one day covered with stickers because his children had "decorated" him that morning. He spent the whole day covered with the stickers, proud of how he looked.

At the time of his death, Joey was a caseworker for the NW PA Rural AIDS Alliance. He had previously worked for Crossroads and the AIDS Council of Erie County, Inc.