Immediate family members of Logan Davis smile for a photo around the sign next to Tower #68 on June 22, 2024, after the tower was blessed and dedicated by Fr. Jason McClure. COURTESY OF KARLA DAVIS

BY ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC

The boys had been friends since before grade school.

“We met through our older sisters,” said Clayton Lewis of his friend and Owensboro Catholic High School classmate Logan Davis.

When Clayton was going into fourth grade, he attended his first summer at Gasper River Catholic Youth Camp and Retreat in Bowling Green: “It was a great experience,” he said.

After Clayton returned home to Owensboro from camp, Logan’s mom, Karla Davis, took the two boys to a splash park in town.

“I remember telling Logan how great a time I’d had,” said Clayton.

This inspired Logan, who decided to check out camp the following year when he was entering fifth grade.

“After his first time going, he knew it was his place,” said Clayton, explaining that his friend soon became a regular Gasper camper – attending every summer and the Christmas/New Year’s camp as well.

Clayton said that for many kids who go to Gasper, it provides an opportunity to connect or reconnect with the Catholic faith.

But for Logan, that wasn’t the case.

“It was a continuation of his faith that he lived every day,” said Clayton. “He knew his faith, and if someone had a question about it, he was the man to talk to.”

The sign for Tower #68 is seen at Gasper River Catholic Youth Camp and Retreat Center, featuring photos of Logan Davis and a plaque composed by Ben Warrell, camp director, which reads “Logan Davis was an incredible young man, athlete, and camper. He had a deep faith and desire for others to know the love of Jesus Christ. He constantly challenged his friends, peers, and even the Gasper staff to grow not just in faith but in all areas of their lives. Logan was our biggest camper, so it fits that we name our biggest adventure activity in his honor. Logan played #68 on the Owensboro Catholic High School football team. He and Gasper share the same goal: challenging people to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ. Through this tower, he continues to challenge every person we serve in the same way. Live like Logan!” ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD | WKC

And it wasn’t just “head knowledge” of the faith: Logan embraced the “heart” aspect of his faith, too.

Clayton said that he, Logan and their Owensboro friends would coordinate with friends from other cities to make sure they could attend the same week at Gasper each summer.

But even when attending with friends, “Logan would still branch out and make an effort to eat with others, hanging out with them,” especially if there were other youths who seemed to be outsiders, said Clayton.

As Logan grew up and got involved in other activities like football, the Catholic camp remained a central aspect of his life. Clayton said the 6-foot-3, 320-pound offensive guard and defensive tackle just had a way of bringing others together and helping them feel seen.

And he “always loved talking about Gasper,” said Clayton.

The entire community was rocked when Logan, a rising high school senior, died in a car accident on July 11, 2020. He had just turned 18 on May 5.

Logan’s funeral Mass was held outdoors at Steele Stadium in Owensboro, due to pandemic restrictions at the time. According to local news coverage, approximately 1,000 mourners filled the stands.

In the days that followed the teen’s death, Gasper River Catholic Youth Camp and Retreat Center was contacted about having a climbing tower donated to them.

The 40-foot structure included the option for beginner and advanced climbing sides and a free flight element. Gasper’s staff knew this was an opportunity to not only expand what it could offer to future campers, but to also honor Logan’s faithful witness.

After receiving a grant for $50,000 to complete the tower, Gasper named it Tower #68 – after Logan’s football jersey number. They nicknamed the free flight element – which involves wearing a full body harness, getting hooked into the belay device, and jumping – the “Leap of Faith.”

Fr. Jason McClure blesses Tower #68 on June 22, 2024, at Gasper River Catholic Youth Camp and Retreat Center in Bowling Green, Ky. COURTESY OF KARLA DAVIS

Tower #68 debuted at camp last year and has become a noteworthy feature on the campus.

In an August 2023 WKC article, Ben Warrell, Gasper’s camp director, said this new outdoor activity is “a beautiful thing” to see the campers stretch themselves, which offers the opportunity “to continually challenge these young people to grow as people and in their faith as well.”

On June 22, 2024, Logan’s family and close friends gathered for the tower to be dedicated and blessed by Gasper’s chaplain Fr. Jason McClure, who had been the chaplain of Owensboro Catholic High School when Logan was a student there.

Karla said there were approximately 90 people at the dedication, including 12 of Logan’s classmates and friends.

“It was a really good day,” said Karla. “Just a celebration for Logan.”

Hayley Davis, Logan’s sister, was also present, and commented that it was significant for Tower #68 to be “the biggest thing at camp, and Logan was their biggest camper.”

Karla said the camp meant the world to her son: “He always seemed filled with joy and the Holy Spirit when he came back from Gasper,” she said.

Hayley agreed: “He was always big on connections with people, and at Gasper the people were genuine and shared the same mentality and values as he did.”

“He was all about that – leading people to Jesus,” said Karla.

At Logan’s funeral in 2020, the Mass programs contained an excerpt from a journal entry that Hayley had discovered after his death.

In his journal, Logan had written: “My God, my God, I love you. I love you. There is no words I can use to express my wanting to be with you in heaven, the goal and our destiny. I’m ready whenever you call my spirit home, its yours. I ask that when you call me home that everyone will be happy not sad, for they will know that we love them. Until this moment I’ll keep praying. I’ll keep loving you even if it’s tomorrow or a thousand years.”

They determined the entry had been written several years prior.

Karla Davis, Logan Davis’ mom, surrounded by his friends and classmates at Gasper River Catholic Youth Camp and Retreat Center on June 22, 2024. COURTESY OF KARLA DAVIS

Clayton, who was at the June 22 dedication, echoed this sentiment, remembering how Logan was “always ready to go” – knowing that earthly life is temporary, but heaven is forever.

Clayton said his friend was a good example of regularly going to confession, and that he always stressed that “if the Lord is calling me now, I’m ready. That heaven’s the main goal.”

“And if that meant going early… that meant going early,” said Clayton.

He said that after the dedication, many people took the opportunity to try out the tower’s elements. Clayton was one of those who even did the Leap of Faith, which he closely connected to the feeling of taking a leap when “answering the Lord’s call.”

He said Logan “continues to inspire me” and even has his friend’s rosary hanging on his rearview mirror “to remind me to pray.”

He said it made sense that reuniting with his friends and classmates for the dedication was because of Logan.

“It was always him that brought everyone together,” said Clayton. “So of course it was Tower #68 that brought us back together.”

Tower #68 is seen during its debut summer in 2023 in this file photo. ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD | WKC

Originally printed in the August 2024 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.