The water was especially fine Saturday at the Watiki Indoor Water Park, on a day when every dollar spent was dedicated to a memorial fund for Kevin Morsching.

The 21-year-old star athlete from Rapid City died in August from a head injury suffered during a skateboarding accident in Brookings. But he seemed very much alive in the warm recollections Saturday of those who knew and loved him.

Tom Bradsky, one of the owners of Watiki and the adjoining LaQuinta Inn and Fairfield Inn & Suites, said Morsching was a friend of his daughters.

"We saw a lot of Kevin at our house. He was just a super kid," Bradsky said. "You know how you say that you can find something good in everybody? Well, if you took all those good things and put it all into one person, that was Kevin."

Along with the revenues form the water park and adjoining arcade and concessions, all the motel fees for the night at both hotels went to the Kevin Morsching memorial. It will be used to help defray medical costs and, especially, to establish a lasting scholarship in Morsching's name.

All told, Bradsky expects it to be quite a decent total.

"It should be a chunk. We're hoping it is," he said. "I talked to a number of people who had never been here before. They heard about the fundraiser and decided to have a look."

Others showed up by chance. Chris and Sarah King and their 13-month-old son, Alex, went to Watiki for a birthday party but were gratified to learn how their money would be spent.

"I think it's awesome," Sarah King said.

Morsching's parents, Kevin and Kim, and his younger brother, Kirby, thought the same thing as the moved through the splashing throngs, joining friends in celebrating the memory of a young man gone too soon.

"It's just phenomenal," Kevin Morsching said. "The community spirit has just been amazing."

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com