Quilt, wall detail honor former RARE employee

ROSEVILLE — The memory of Connor McMahon will live on each time someone enters the Recreation Authority of Roseville and Eastpointe building located at 18185 Sycamore St.

On the late afternoon of Nov. 7 at RARE — where McMahon worked for several years — staff unveiled on the lobby wall in large letters a quote he often said, “Be greater and make a difference.”

A brief ceremony was held during the unveiling, which many people attended, including city officials; RARE employees; McMahon’s parents, Kathleen and Corey McMahon; and his brother, Carter.

Kathleen and Corey McMahon teared up when RARE Director Tony Lipinski presented the family with a quilt that was made from their son’s summer camp T-shirts that he wore over the years. The quilt also had squares that depicted his alma mater — the University of Michigan — Spider-Man and Marvel Comics.

“This has been a long time coming to get this to Kathleen, Corey and Carter,” Lipinski said. “Connor was taken from us too soon. There’s not a day that we at the rec authority don’t think about him. He touched a lot of lives and made a positive impact on the world. We want to keep Connor’s memory alive. We feel anybody that visits the rec authority center should experience Connor and his positivity and his message to the world.”

McMahon was a scorekeeper, summer day camp instructor, building supervisor and park attendant at RARE. The 23-year-old Fraser High School teacher was killed in a hit-and-run car crash June 13, 2023, while changing a tire on the shoulder of Interstate 94 in Harper Woods.

McMahon certainly influenced the camp counselors he worked alongside. Stephanie Berlin, 28, affectionately described him as “corny” because as McKenna Ciner, 27, said, “He loved a good dad joke.”

Ciner remembered that McMahon “would do anything for the kids.” Berlin also said that she often went to McMahon when she needed help with technical equipment.

“He would figure things out someway,” Berlin said. “He never lost his patience.”

McMahon also made movies each year of summer camp that everyone appreciated.

Brendan Shiemke shared a story about the time he and several kids in summer camp played a joke on McMahon when he was a building supervisor.

“He was in the building and one of the kids asked if we could prank call him,” Shiemke said. They didn’t get very far because “Connor figured it out right away. He thought it was hilarious.”

The wall quote would mean a lot to him.

“He would think this was the coolest thing ever,” Rachael Weldon, 26, said.

Even though the group saw each other at RARE during summer camp, they also hung out after work hours.

“We would hang out on the weekends and play board games,” Jacqui Feldman, 22, said. “He loved video games and once brought his whole video console to my house.”

Michael Lipinski, who is Tony Lipinski’s son, was roommates at U of M with McMahon for about 2 1/2 years.

“There were a lot of late-night 7-Eleven runs and we’d get Joe’s Pizza because he was a big Spider-Man fan,” Michael Lipinski said.

Pinball Pete’s was another regular hangout. According to Michael Lipinski, McMahon was a “huge sports fan,” so they spent many weekends attending U of M football games and tailgating with classmates.

In tribute to McMahon, the Connor McMahon Scholarship was established at RARE. The scholarship helps provide funding for the Summer Day Camp for families in need. This year, the fund helped seven students attend summer camp. Scholarship applications are available on the website at rare-mi.org or in person at the RARE building.