The sun rises over a tornado ravaged home early on May 27 in Moore, Oklahoma. Residents and volunteers observed the Memorial Day holiday by continuing to recover valuables from the destroyed neighborhoods. The tornado of EF5 strength and two miles wide touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Following are the names and photos of the 24 fatal victims of the massive tornado that recently ripped through Moore, Oklahoma.
Rest in peace.
1. Kyle Davis, 8 years old
Kyle was the light of his grandfather’s eye. He loved monster truck shows and soccer. He earned the nickname “The Wall” because the other kids would “ just bounce off of him.” The young student was memorialized by his community by retiring the number 16, which he wore on the soccer team. the Reverend Dewayne Keppler said the boy’s last words were, “I love you, Mama.”
2. Megan Futrell, 29 years old
Megan Futrell died in the freezer of a 7-Eleven after trying to outrun the storm. She was found holding her 5-month-old baby, Case Futrell. She leaves behind one other child and a husband whom she got in touch with moments before the storm touched down. She was a schoolteacher and an active church member. To learn more about Megan Futrell, read her obituary.
3. Case Futrell, 4 months old
The youngest son of Megan Futrell, case died in her arms. He was in his babysitter’s house as the storm was touching down, but mom Megan Futrell picked him up and took him into a 7-Eleven store, where they both met their demise in a store freezer. Read more about Case Futrell here.
4. JaNae Hornsby, 9 years old
Hornsby died along with six of her classmates at Plaza Towers Elementary school. Her father was on his way to pick her up but got stuck in traffic. When he got to the school it was flattened ruble. Also flattened by the storm was the home where she lived with her father a few blocks from the elementary school, according to News Channel 4. Her family says she was a lovable girl who loved to sing and draw. For more on JaNae Hornsbury, read her obituary.
5. Tawuana Robinson, 45 years old
Robinson lived a block away from the Plaza Towers Elementary school and hid in the closet of her home. While in there she called her daughter and spoke her final words: “Yes, the tornado has touched down, I am in my closet. I love you.” Her daughter is devastated by her loss, saying, “I had a friend in my mom, I had a mom in my mom, I had a sister in my mom. I had everything a girl could want in my mom,” according to WGNTV.com.
6. Leslie Johnson, 46 years old
Johnson was the fiance of Tawuana Robinson (above). Both died while waiting for the tornado to pass.
7. Terri Long, 49 years old
Long was described as an ideal citizen who served the community as much as she could. “A volunteer for all seasons” is how she is remembered by Linda Webb, who met Long several years ago. It could be any season, bitterly cold or sizzling hot, and she would be aiding the community. To learn more about Terri Long, read her obituary.
8. Sydnee Vargyas, 7 months old
Sydnee was the younger sister of Karrina Vargyas (below), who also was killed by the tornado. For more about Sydnee, read her obituary.
9. Karrina Vargyas, 4 years old
Karrina died along with her younger sister, Sydnee. Not old enough for school, she was at home and hid in a bathtub with her family. But the brutal force of the storm pulled the family in different directions, and Karrina was found in what used to be a neighbor’s house. Read Karrina’s obituary here.
10. Antonia Candelaria, 9 years old
Candelaria died at Plaza Towers Elementary School, holding onto Emily Contazer. Antonia and Emily had met on the first day of school and became best friends. Then they discovered they were next-door neighbors. According to the Huffington Post, the mother said, “I couldn’t be there with her but she was with her best friend, and now she’s still with her best friend and knowing that helps a bit.” For more, read Antonia’s obituary.
11. Emily Conatzer, 9 years old
One of the children who died in Plaza Towers Elementary School, she was found holding onto her best friend, Antonia Candelaria. She loved fashion and wanted to move to Pairs to be a fashion designer when she got older. She loved unicorns and Lady Gaga, according to News Channel 4. To learn more about Emily Conatzer, read her obituary.
12. Sydney Angle, 9 years old
Angle was among the students who died at Plaza Towers Elementary School. She is remembered as having an infectious personality and loved to play softball. She began playing when she was just 4 years old and was a member of the team called Bring It, according to her obituary.
13. Nicholas McCabe, 9 years old
McCabe was another of the children who died at the Plaza Towers Elementary School. Threats of the 9-year-old’s funeral being disrupted by the Westboro Baptist Church were met with the protective efforts of hundreds of bikers who came in to support. He is remembered as a kid who loved Legos and listening to country music.
14. Christopher Legg, 9 years old
Legg, another victim who lost his life at the elementary school, was a brave young man who fought through a skin cancer diagnosis and Osgood-Schlatter disease, which caused him much pain in his knee joints. Despite his struggles he loved to “roughhouse and wrestle with his Daddy,” said a statement from the family. For more, read his obituary.
15. Deanna Ward, 70 years old
Ward, who hid in her closet while holding hands with her son, is remembered by her daughter as being the “best mom“. For more on Deanna Ward, read her obituary.
16. Randy Smith, 39 years old
Smith was a local plumber, according to News Channel 4. More than riding his motorcycle, Randy loved to spend time with his family, especially his son, Dylan. For more on Randy Smith, read his obituary.
17. Cindy Plumley, 45 years old
Plumley is remembered as a loving mother and grandmother. She was an LPN who worked at the Veterans Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
18. Hemant Bhonde, 65 years old
Bhonde became separated from his wife when the tornado hit. They both hid in the shower, but when the tornado ripped through the bathroom and the walls started disappearing, she couldn’t find him. She survived, but he died of multiple blunt force trauma. His daughter Geeta says he was the nicest man, “funny, silly, give you the shirt off his back, literally.”
19. Shannon Quick, 40 years old
As the tornado ripped through the the mid-section of her home, Shannon told her mother she was having a hard time breathing. As she lay on the floor screaming for her two boys, Tanner and Jackson, and clutching the pant leg of an emergency worker, she died. She was known for knowing how to make a mean dinner out of a Crock-Pot.
20. Jenny Neely, 38 years old
Neely died in a closet in her home as she and her son rode out the storm. He remembers his mother telling him, “Pray, baby.”
21. Gina Stromski, 51 years old.
22. Rick Jones, 54 years old
Rick was a postal worker and member of the Oklahoma City Area Local.
23. Richard Brown, 41 years old
24. William Sass, 63 years old
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