Mollie Sylvester Schaffer had been married to her husband, Randy, for 57 years when the Houston couple traveled to an annual get-together with friends on the…
Mollie Sylvester Schaffer had been married to her husband, Randy, for 57 years when the Houston couple traveled to an annual get-together with friends on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas. She was killed in the catastrophic flash floods that so far have claimed the lives of 120 people.
They include a budding 8-year-old actress and twin sisters from Dallas.
The flooding originated from the fast-moving waters of the Guadalupe River on the Fourth of July. Authorities say search and rescue efforts are still underway, including for campers missing from a summer camp for girls.
Malaya Grace Hammond, 17, of Marble Falls, was in a van with her family on their way to a Christian summer camp Saturday. It was dark and raining, and they were unable to see that a bridge had washed out in Travis County.
Hammond was able to open a door, allowing the family to escape, but she was swept away by floodwaters, family friends said. She was found Monday.
An avid lover of the arts, she expressed her creativity through painting, dancing and singing, according to her obituary.
“Her ability to harmonize, I think matched her ability to harmonize with others,” her father, Matthew Hammond, said in a video posted Thursday on Facebook. “She felt that harmony was our natural state.”
Odessa Police Officer Bailey Martin was killed in the July 4 Texas floods near Kerrville. He was on a family trip to the Guadalupe River, the police department said.
Bailey’s father, Bobby, and stepmother Amanda were also killed in the flood, according a release from the city of Odessa. His girlfriend, Jayda Floyd, has been missing since the morning of July 5.
Martin was a native of Odessa who hoped to become a detective, according to a post on the department’s Facebook’s page profiling recruits.
“I wanted to join because the world we live in is always changing and I wanted to do everything I can to be part of my community as it grows, allowing me to preserve the peace and safety,” Martin said in the post.
His body was escorted back to Odessa by a procession of police and other emergency vehicles on Wednesday. The department asked residents to replace their porch lights with blue bulbs for the rest of the week in honor of Martin.
Mollie Sylvester Schaffer, 76, of Houston, and her husband were at an annual reunion with best friends at the River Inn, on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Hunt.
The couple, married for 57 years, evacuated early July Fourth in her SUV. She attempted to drive up a hill. But as the water rose, the vehicle started floating and the doors wouldn’t open, her husband, Randy Schaffer, posted Monday on Facebook.
“Mollie lowered the front windows and said to dive out feet first. I tried, but my seat was low, the window was high, and I fell back into the seat. The last words she ever spoke were, ‘You have to push harder,’” he wrote. “I pushed as hard as I could and went out the window.”
Randy Schaffer said he was able to wrap his arms around a pole and climb up until his head was above water. He looked for his wife, but she had been swept into the river. Her body was recovered on Sunday.
“She wouldn’t leave the car until she was sure that I had done so. She saved my life. It wasn’t my day to die. I wish that it hadn’t been hers,” he wrote.
Renee Smajstrla, a 8-year-old straight-A student from Ingram, Texas, who had played a role in her school’s production of “The Wizard of Oz,” was one of the victims who died in the flash floods at Camp Mystic, her family said.
Renee had just completed second grade and aspired to play the lead role in an upcoming camp production, according to a funeral home obituary. At school, she played “The Lullaby League” munchkin in “The Wizard of Oz.”
“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.”
Her uncle posted a photo on Facebook of Renee smiling at camp the day before the July 4 floods.
“She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic,” he wrote.
Sally Sample Graves, 91, was killed in the Texas flood when her home was swept away by the rampaging waters, her family said.
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’ 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.
“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 Kate Jacobe, an 8-year-old from Houston described by her family as “tiny but mighty,” was a camper at Camp Mystic killed in the July 4 flooding.
Jacobe’s family described the girl as having a “smile that melted your heart.”
“Mary Kate, our Sissy, was the baby of our large family and was most certainly our angel on Earth,” her family said in a statement. “We are utterly shattered and forever changed by the loss of our girl.”
Joyce Catherine Badon, Ella Cahill and Reese Manchaca had been friends since high school. The three gathered for the July Fourth holiday with Cahill’s boyfriend at a home in Hunt, along the Guadalupe River.
All three young women were killed.
“At 4 a.m. this morning, a flash flood came through and washed their cars away,” Badon’s mother, Kellye Badon, posted on Facebook on July 4. “It happened so quickly with so much water, they could not get in the attic.”
She said Cahill’s boyfriend, who remains missing, called his dad as it was happening, then got washed away with Cahill and Manchaca. Kellye Badon said her daughter was the last person heard from on that call before the phone went dead.
Badon, 21, of Beaumont, was a senior architecture student at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
“A beloved daughter, friend, and classmate, Joyce was passionate about using her artistry and talent to impact the world, and had recently helped redesign donation centers for Goodwill,” the school said in an email.
Manchaca was a recent graduate of Caney Creek High School in Conroe. The Conroe Independent School District, where her mother is a longtime employee, was offering “Forever in our Hearts” T-shirts featuring images of Texas and angel’s wings, with proceeds going to the family.
Cahill’s sister, Mackenzie Hodulik, asked people to keep her sister’s memory in their hearts.
