08-07-2025
UTSA Professor Who Died in Texas Flooding Remembered as an ‘Incredible' Mother and Grandmother ‘Who Spent Her Life Helping Kids'
University of Texas at San Antonio professor Katheryn Eads died in the central Texas floods at 52
"There's a momma up there helping them," Eads' daughter Victoria said of the deaths of several children in the floods
Eads, a psychology senior lecturer at the university, previously assisted children living in foster careUniversity of Texas at San Antonio professor Katheryn Eads died in the recent flooding in central Texas. She was 52.
Eads, a psychology senior lecturer, joined the faculty at UTSA in 2022, per a statement on the university's official website. Eads' oldest daughter, Victoria Eads, tells PEOPLE more about her mother's legacy.
"Dr. Katheryn Eads lived a fulfilling life, cut far too short. She was an incredible wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, and person who spent her life helping kids, from those in the foster care system early in her career to those in school, both in early education as a psychologist and in college as a professor," Victoria says in a written statement on behalf of the family.
She then touched upon Eads' passion for helping children and offered condolences to the parents of children who died in the catastrophic Kerr County floods.
"Trying to figure out our lives without her is a possibility we never planned to face and we will always miss her," Victoria wrote. "I know it won't ease the burden of grief any, but I want the parents of those kids who also passed to know that there's a momma up there helping them and giving them hugs until their parents get back to them."
'Dr. Eads was an extraordinary educator whose devotion to her students and to the craft of teaching embodied the very best of our academic community," Heather Shipley, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at UTSA, said in a statement from the university.
Shipley continued, 'Through her insight, expertise and unwavering commitment to student success, she inspired generations of learners and colleagues alike. Her absence leaves a profound void at UTSA, but her impact will continue to resonate through the lives she touched.'
The extreme flooding of the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas, resulted in an overnight evacuation of nearby Camp Mystic on July 3, a local summer camp, where multiple girls have gone missing.
A counselor and 10 of Camp Mystic's 750 campers are still unaccounted for as of Monday evening, July 7, according to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth.
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Directors from the camp allegedly asked for help and said some of the children were unaccounted for, according to the San Antonio Express-News. The directors said that the cabins were flooded and may have been washed away.
The highway in the area has been washed away, the outlet also reported. Kerr County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Clint Morris told KSAT it is 'an extremely active scene, countywide.' The death toll is currently 104 people, including 28 children.
To learn how to help support the victims and recovery efforts from the Texas floods, click here.
Read the original article on People
