Authorities released the names of seven people killed when storm winds tore through North Texas over Memorial Day weekend.
Sprawling storms ripped through several states Saturday evening, killing at least 22 people. The death toll includes seven deaths in Cooke County, Texas, where a twister blew through Valley View, a town of under 800 people north of Denton.
Those who died are Victor Manuel Ortiz, 72; Loyd Wayne Watson, 57; Laura Patricia Garcia Esparza, 49; Miranda Esparza, 15; Marco Andres Esparza, 9; Tyrique Taishun McCrary, 5; and Essence Eunique McCrary, 2.
Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington confirmed the names Tuesday. All of the deaths were in RFR Estates, a mobile home park south of Valley View near Interstate 35, the sheriff said.
Many neighbors who spoke to The Dallas Morning News in the days since the storms mourned for the dead, often while still picking up pieces of their damaged — in some cases, leveled — homes. Some said they were thankful to be alive, even though they lost everything. Others were coping with the loss of their friends.
Some family members of the victims have set up GoFundMe pages to raise money to cover storm-related expenses, including funeral costs. Sappington said he was thankful some fundraisers reached $10,000 or higher by Tuesday.
“That is good to see,” the sheriff said in an interview.
The Ortiz home was in the path of the tornado and was destroyed. Victor Ortiz, the oldest of those killed, was hospitalized after the storm and underwent surgery, but died from his injuries Sunday morning, according to a GoFundMe set up by his daughter-in-law.
She described him as a “great loving” husband, father and grandfather.
“This sudden news is unexpected. We are all devastated losing such a great member of our family, still processing the effects of this tornado and now mourning the [life] of our dear loved one,” reads the post for Ortiz.
Watson lived on County Road 2133. A neighbor told KXAS-TV (NBC5) that his home was leveled. Watson’stwo sons, who were reportedly sheltering with their father at the time of the storm, were hospitalized.
“That was friends of ours, so I mean, it’s hard, all of this is hard,” the neighbor, Jesse Helms, told the station.
The youngest among those killed were Tyrique and Essence McCrary. Their older sister was hospitalized, according to a WFAA-TV (Channel 8) report.
The Esparza family lived on Green Meadows Drive.
Josue Luna and his sister, Alondra, spent many childhood afternoons at the Esparza home, waiting for their parents to return from work. After school, the bus drops children off at the start of a dead-end road, so Luna and his sibling would head to the Esparzas’.
The brother-sister duo described Laura Patricia Garcia Esparza as “the kindest soul” and said she cared for them as if they were her own children. They talked fondly of playing outside with Miranda and her surviving older brother and how, in recent years, they had watched the family’s youngest, Marco, grow up.
“We grew up with them,” said Luna, 20. “If there were any situations in the neighborhood where help was needed, they were always willing to help. They were always one of the first people to do anything.”
The Luna home stood Monday with less damage than most on the street, sustaining a few broken windows, a detached roof from their shed and a near-leveling of their solar panels in the backyard. Their Great Pyrenees, Dak, who was outside when the storms hit, was inexplicably found without any injuries once the winds died down.
“I think we’ve all learned we need to hold our families tighter,” Luna said. “You just never know when the last time you’ll ever see them.”
A GoFundMe set up for the Esparza family had raised more than $71,000 by Tuesday evening.