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Boston Globe

Victims, young and old, are remembered

Renee had just completed second grade and aspired to play the lead role in an upcoming camp production, according to a 'Renee was a great classmate, friend and teammate,' the obituary said. 'Being an athlete but a cheerleader at heart, Renee often found herself rooting for both teams.' Advertisement Sally Graves Sally Sample Graves, 91, was killed in the Texas flood when her home was swept away by the rampaging waters, her family said. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Graves was with her son and his dog, granddaughter Sarah Sample said in an Instagram post. 'A powerful 30 ft wave destroyed her home, sweeping her and our dad downstream,' Sample wrote. Graves's son and his dog survived. 'We find solace knowing our dad was with her until the very end; caring for her as he has for years,' Sample added in her post. 'Her unwavering dedication to family has left an indelible mark on our lives.' Graves spent her life performing 'innumerable, quiet acts of service,' according to a funeral home obituary. Advertisement 'Sally was known for her sharp intellect, quick wit, and gracious spirit,' the obituary read. 'A consummate host, she had a special way of making others feel welcome and cared for, creating a beautiful home filled with laughter and hospitality.' Mary Grace Baker Mary Grace Baker, who had recently celebrated her first Holy Communion, was among the victims at Camp Mystic. 'Mary Grace was a bright light in our close-knit school family, known for her kindness and friendship to all, her joyful spirit and her love for her faith and family,' St. Anne Catholic School in Beaumont said on Mary Grace had just completed second grade. The school's post described her as a 'girls' girl who loved pink sparkles and bows in her signature angelic ringlet curls.' The school asked its community to place pink ribbons in trees in honor of Mary Grace after she went missing following the floods. Julian Ryan Father and fiancé Julian Ryan of Ingram, Texas, died while saving his family during the flooding and helping them escape. In an interview with KHOU, his fiancée Christina Wilson said that the 27-year-old severed an artery in his arm when he broke a window to get her, their children, and his mother to the roof. 'He looked at me and the kids and my mother-in-law and he was like, 'Sorry, I'm not gonna make it. I love y'all,' Wilson said. James and Cindy Rushing James and Cindy Rushing were camping along the Guadalupe River at the HTR TX Hill Country Campground on the Fourth of July when the flooding struck. 'The amount of grief my family is feeling is immeasurable,' their son, James Evan Rushing, wrote in a social media post. 'My parents have been found, and they are unfortunately gone. My heart is broken into pieces.' Advertisement After the flooding, their daughter, Tamra Blasius, visited their campsite and found nothing left. 'Everything gone — their camper, their truck, their belongings — completely washed away. There was no sign that anyone had ever been there. It was absolutely gut-wrenching,' she wrote in a social media post on Saturday. On Monday, Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence were 8-year-old sisters from Dallas who were among the victims killed by the flooding at Camp Mystic. The girls had just finished second grade, their parents said. 'Hanna and Rebecca brought so much joy to us, to their big sister Harper, and to so many others,' John and Lacy Lawrence said in a statement. 'We will find ways to keep that joy, and to continue to spread it for them. But we are devastated that the bond we shared with them, and that they shared with each other, is now frozen in time. ' David Lawrence, the girls' grandfather and former publisher of the Miami Herald, said, 'It has been an unimaginable time for all of us.' He said the girls gave their family, including their sister, joy. 'They and that joy can never be forgotten,' he said in a statement. Reece and Paula Zunker Reece Zunker was described as 'a passionate educator and a beloved soccer coach' by Tivy High School in Kerrville. 'His unwavering dedication to our students, athletes, and the Tivy community touched countless lives and will never be forgotten,' the school posted online Sunday. Advertisement Paula Zunker was a former teacher at the school. 'The care and impact she shared with her students continue to be felt, even years later,' the post said. The couple's young children, Lyle and Holland, were still missing, the school said. The family had been staying at a river house in Hunt. Dick Eastland Among the dead is Dick Eastland, the Camp Mystic director. Paige Sumner, a former camper, described him in a column in the local paper, The Kerrville Daily Times, as 'the father figure to all of us while we were away from home.' Eastland's grandson, George Eastland, wrote in an Instagram 'If he wasn't going to die of natural causes, this was the only other way, saving the girls that he so loved and cared for,' he wrote. Chloe Childress Chloe Childress was among the counselors at Camp Mystic who died in the devastating floods. Childress, 19, 'lived a beautiful life that saturated those around her with contagious joy, unending grace, and abiding faith,' her family said in a statement. 'Returning as a counselor to the place she loved so dearly, Chloe was looking forward to dedicating her summer days to loving and mentoring young girls at Camp Mystic,' her family said. Childress had just graduated from the Kinkaid School in Houston, which praised her as deeply invested in her community. 'Chloe had a remarkable way of making people feel seen. She was wise beyond her years, with a steady compassion that settled a room,' Jonathan Eads, the head of the school, said in a letter to the school's community on Sunday. Advertisement