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Tornadoes' toll: Family members mourn those they lost

Posted December 18, 2021 6:00 am

By JOHN HANNA and SUDHIN THANAWALA

In this Dec. 10, 2021, photo provided by Sandra Hooker, from left, Avalinn Rackley, 7, Alanna Rackley, 3, and Annistyn Rackley, 9, pose for a picture in a bathroom in their home near Caruthersville, Missouri. Annistyn, a third-grader who loved swimming, dancing and cheerleading, was among dozens of people who died because of the severe storm on Friday, Dec. 10. A tornado hit her home and splintered it less than a week after the family had moved in, and, according to the relative who received the photo of the girl in the bathtub, it carried family members dozens of yards before dropping them in a muddy field. (Meghan Rackley/Courtesy of Sandra Hooker via AP) The Associated Press

Annistyn Rackley was an outgoing and energetic 9-year-old who didn't let a rare liver condition prevent her from the activities she loved: swimming, dancing and cheerleading, her great-aunt Sandra Hooker said.

The girl delighted in donning outfits and makeup for cheer competitions and would frequently do cartwheels and the splits in front of family members.

'œI would just gasp because she could do the splits all the time, and she would just laugh,'ť Hooker recalled. 'œShe loved dancing.'ť

Annistyn was among at least 92 people who were confirmed dead across multiple states after more than 40 tornadoes pummeled a wide area last weekend. The victims included grandmothers, veterans and in some cases, multiple members of a single family. On one street in Bowling Green, Kentucky, 12 people died - eight of them children. Seven of the 12 were members of one family. Their grief-stricken neighbors are surrounded by ruins that include countless children's toys.

The sudden bereavement has left loved ones reeling and clinging to memories. Katie Fields said she doesn't want her father, 60-year-old Carl Hogan, of Dawson Springs, Kentucky, remembered as 'œthe guy who died in the tornado.'ť Hogan loved to fish and loved his green Chevrolet truck, she said, and he was a fan of the TV show 'œYellowstone.'ť His four grandchildren 'œwere his world,'ť she said, and Hogan was a 'œfantastic'ť father.

'œHe was religious but it was a quiet, private faith,'ť Fields said. 'œHe was truly just a good man.'ť

Hogan was 'œincredibly devoted'ť to his wife of 41 years, and he was looking forward to getting her back home following a stay in a hospital and nursing home that began in February, Fields said.

Elsewhere in Dawson Springs, Jason Cummins has been combing through the debris of the home his mother Marsha Hall and her sister Carole Grisham shared, keeping anything still intact - a key, a doorknob - that might remind him of them.

Hall, 72, and Grisham, 80, were referred to simply as 'œthe sisters'ť around Dawson Springs, friend Jenny Beshear Sewell said. They were often in each other's company and had lived in the same home for years, according to Cummins.

'œThey really just took care of each other,'ť said Cummins, 43. 'œIt was always the two of them. They were best friends.'ť

Cummins said he texted his aunt and mother 'œgood morning'ť and told them he loved them every day. On the day of the storm, he added that they should 'œwatch the weather.'ť He was tracking the storm on Facebook that night and told Hall to get Grisham and go to the hallway.

'œShe said, '~I cleaned out the closet in case I need to get in there.''ť Cummins recalled. 'œShe said, '~I love you.' She texted each of my siblings and said she loved them.'ť

Cummins said he texted later but didn't hear back. A tornado had wiped out the home.

Cummins said among the debris, he found his mom's purse with cash she had taken out of the bank to hand out at Christmas.

'œI don't know how it's going to feel the day when I don't come up here and look for something,'ť he said. 'œThat's when I think it will hit me.'ť

Annistyn, her parents and her two younger sisters took shelter Friday night in a windowless bathroom in their new home west of Caruthersville, Missouri. To prove they'd gotten to the family's 'œsafe space,'ť the girls' mom texted Hooker a photo of the three girls in and next to the bathtub - all of them smiling, Annistyn holding her favorite doll.

Fifteen minutes later, Hooker said, a tornado splintered the home, carrying the family members dozens of yards through the air into a field where first responders found them in mud. Annistyn died, and the others were injured.

Annistyn's parents learned when she was 2 months old that she had a rare liver disorder in which bile ducts don't develop properly, sometimes making it hard to fight off illness, according to Hooker. The two had become close over the past four years: Hooker offered the girl support during doctor's visits and blood draws.

She called Annistyn a 'œspecial angel.'ť

___

Associated Press writer Jeffrey Collins contributed to this report.

In this undated photo provided by Sandra Hooker, Annistyn Rackley, 9, poses for a picture while attending a cheerleading competition in Arizona. Rackley, who loved swimming, dancing and cheerleading, was among dozens of people who died because of a severe storm, Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. A tornado hit her home and splintered it less than a week after the family had moved in, according to a relative. (Meghan Rackley/Courtesy of Sandra Hooker via AP) The Associated Press

In this undated photo provided by Sandra Hooker, the Rackley family poses for a picture while on a trip to Sedona, Arizona. From left are, Annistyn, 9, Avalinn, 7, Alanna, 3, and their parents, Megan and Trey. Annistyn, who loved swimming, dancing and cheerleading, was among dozens of people who died because of a severe storm, Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. A tornado hit her home and splintered it less than a week after the family had moved in. (Summer Alexander/Courtesy of Sandra Hooker via AP) The Associated Press

This undated photo shows from left, Carole Grisham and Marsha Hall. The sisters who had worked at the Beshear Funeral Home - 80-year-old Carole Grisham and 72-year-old Marsha Hall - decided to stay put in their home, which lacked a basement, as the tornado barreled down on Dawson Springs, Ky. (Courtesy of Jason Cummins via AP) The Associated Press

This undated photo shows Marsha Hall. Two sisters who had worked at the Beshear Funeral Home - 80-year-old Carole Grisham and 72-year-old Marsha Hall - decided to stay put in their home, which lacked a basement, as the tornado barreled down on Dawson Springs, Ky. (Courtesy of Jason Cummins via AP) The Associated Press

A child's toy car sits near damaged cars and homes Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021, in Bowling Green, Ky. When a tornado touched down in Bowling Green in the middle of the night, its violence was centered on a friendly subdivision, where everyone waved at each other and giggling children spent afternoons tooling around on their bicycles on the sidewalks. Fourteen people died in a few blocks, 11 of them on a single street. Entire families were lost, between them seven children, two of them infants. (AP Photo/James Kenney) The Associated Press

A family photograph lies among the debris along Moss Creek Avenue in Bowling Green, Ky., Tuesday, Dec.14, 2021. The neighborhood was one of the hardest hit areas in the city after a tornado ripped through the weekend before. (AP Photo/James Kenney) The Associated Press

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