WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The four people who died when two small planes collided above Lake Hartridge Tuesday are being remembered by those who knew them. 

"It's been tough," Tristen Rose said of the death of Faith Baker, who was just 24 years old. "When it's someone who's older, then you expect it. It's still sad, but when it's someone who's so young and out of the blue, it's tough to swallow." 

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said Baker was a pilot and flight instructor with Sunrise Aviation and was one of those on board the Cherokee Piper 161 fixed wing plane that crashed into the lake. It was being operated on behalf of Polk State College. 

Members of People's Church told Spectrum News that Baker had been a member for three years. While they said she was shy, that didn't stop her from displaying her musical talent as a member of their worship team. Music Pastor David Burton said she sang as well as played the drums, guitar and bass.

"I just want people to know how precious and how sweet Faith was. She did love flying, and she loved God. She loved her church, and she loved us. We will always be grateful for the time that we got to spend with her," Burton said.

Rose, the drummer on the church's worship team, said she also had a sense of humor. A photo from her wedding day last year shows Baker standing next to someone wearing a panda head mask and holding a diamond ring balloon. Rose was the man behind the mask.

"She worked at Panda Express, and her husband, before they were married, would come in a lot, and that's how they met. So, as a joke, I told her that I was going to be the 'ring bear' at her wedding. The next day, I got a text that she had ordered the panda bear head, and it was on," Rose said.

Kristi Merritt, a singer and worship leader, said she also became friends with Baker outside of church. 

"She loved to fly. She would talk about her dreams, her goals. She had big dreams," Merritt said. "She wanted to be in a commercial airliner. She was a very driven individual."

Merritt said she thought of Baker when she heard about the crash.

"I mean, every time she would fly throughout the week and I would see an airplane, of course I would think of her every time. When I heard about it, of course I thought about her. I even texted her to see if she was OK. I never got a text back," Merritt said.

"I think that we probably don't look as much at what Faith's loss will mean for us but what Faith added to us in the time that she was here, that will continue to be part of us," said Burton. "We know that God has a plan, and his plans are not always our plans, but we will definitely miss her."

The sheriff's office said Polk State College student Zachary Mace was also on board the Cherokee Piper with Baker. The college said in a statement that Mace was a student pilot.

"Our Polk State College family is devastated by this tragedy," Polk State President Angela Garcia Falconetti is quoted in the statement. "We extend our deepest condolences to their families, friends, and colleagues."

Summerlin Academy in Bartow, Mace's alma mater, posted a tribute to its Facebook page.

"Zach was always intensely focused on pursuing a career in aviation and completed his first solo flight and was already a licensed pilot before graduation," Dr. Cynthia Wright Downing, the school's principal, is quoted. "He was a respectful young man, mature beyond his years. As a leader on our campus, he would take charge and get any task accomplished. He was funny, caring, and compassionate. He enjoyed playing lacrosse and was also very intelligent, becoming our salutatorian in 2021. The Summerlin family is heartbroken with his passing, and our prayers are with his loved ones during this difficult time."

Jennifer Barthel, lead teacher for the social studies department at Summerlin, said she first met Mace when he was still in middle school and his sister graduated from the academy in 2016. Mace started at the school the next year. Barthel was his teacher and also got to know him through her work assisting with the boys' lacrosse team, of which he was a member. 

"He was just wonderful. He was kind. He had a very dry wit. He was sarcastic, but not in a mean way. He always had a smile. He always had a positive attitude. He was a leader," Barthel said.

Summerlin is a military academy, and Barthel said Mace was a commander of one of the school's two battalions.

"That's a big responsibility," she said. "It's a couple hundred children that were under him, and he led with grace and dignity."

Barthel said the last time she saw Mace was two or three weeks ago when he brought smoothies to lacrosse practice for her and the other lacrosse coaches. She said he showed her videos of him flying — a career he was dedicated to pursuing.

"He was telling me about how you could see both coasts of Florida at the same time when you were up in the air. He was very excited about that," she said. "If Zach had a legacy that I think he wanted to leave to the students of Summerlin, I think he would say to them to decide what your dream is and work hard and achieve it. That's what he was doing. I mean, he died doing something he loved, and that's more than most of us can ever ask for."

According to the sheriff's office, passengers on the other plane, a Piper J-3 Cub sea plane, were Randall Crawford, 67, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and Louis Defazio, 78, of Fredricksburg, Texas and Winter Haven. The plane was operated by Jack Brown's Seaplane Base. Ben Shipps with Jack Brown's provided a statement that said, "It is with heavy hearts that we mourn the loss of instructor and dear friend, Lou DeFazio, and fellow seaplane enthusiast and long-time customer of the Base, Randall Crawford, in yesterday's accident. Our prayers and deepest sympathies are with the families, friends, and entire Polk State community as we walk through this dark time together. We are working with local authorities, the FAA, and the NTSB as the investigation continues. Our hope and prayer is that all affected by this tragedy feel God's peace as we love each other through this difficult time."