Waverly flooding victims: Family and friends reflect on the loved ones lost

A total of 20 people were killed during severe storms and extreme flash floods in Middle Tennessee on Aug. 21, according to local officials. 

The victims include a father who died after saving his wife and daughter, 7-month-old twins ripped from their father's arms by rushing water, and the beloved foreman of Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Hurricane Mills.

The floods were trigged by up to 17 inches of rain falling in just one day. The rain shattered the state record for daily rainfall and sent rivers and creeks surging over their boundaries. The floods struck four counties in Middle Tennessee: Dickson, Hickman, Houston and Humphreys. 

The victims were all from hard-hit Humphreys County, with 19 dead in the small town of Waverly alone. Here's who they were. 

The Tennessean will add to this file as we learn their stories. 

The window Linda Almond, 55, filmed behind was covered in rain drops. The floodwater moved through the street, carrying large pieces of wood and debris. It was her final Facebook post to her friends and family. 

“We’re being flooded right now in Waverly, Tennessee,” Almond said in her Facebook livestream. “Really scary.”

A South Florida native, Almond was staying in Waverly with her son Tommy upon completing a cross-country road trip, said family members in interviews about her. 

Almond will be remembered for her warm and caring personality, said her daughter Victoria Almond, in an interview with The Washington Post.

James Michael Betty, 67, took his wife to safety on the morning of the flood before heading back into the waters to help out his neighbors.

He helped a neighbor escape the water, but he didn't make it out himself. 

His two step-daughters remember Betty as a "gentle giant" who loved to tease but also had a huge heart.

"All he knew was kindness," said Jaquita Buchanan, his step-daughter. "He was always helping people."

Betty was a recently retired tow motor operator who lived in Waverly with his wife Peggy for 22 years. 

A Memorial Service will be held on what would have been Betty's 68th birthday on October 24, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. at the Luff-Bowen Funeral Home in Waverly.

Donna Bradley, 61, was on the porch with Robin Shawl, her sister-in-law, when rain started pouring down on their shared duplex. As floodwaters rose, they were swept off and separated. Rescue teams, including Robin's son Jeremiah Shawl, spent the next two days searching for her body before it was recovered on Monday, Aug. 23.

Donald Jackson, Bradley's son, lived nearby in Waverly. He said Bradley was a loving grandmother who "loved her grandbabies, her kids, all her family and her friends." He saw her a week before the flood and spoke to her on the phone that morning.

"Just a kind, loving person," Jackson said. "She'd do anything for anybody. It didn't matter what it was."

Regenia Brake, a mother of five children and five grandchildren, died after being swept away in floodwaters while trying to escape her Waverly home in East Brookside.

Her daughter, Kayla Brake, said her 53-year-old mother was home with her brother and sister in the living room when water "rushed in and busted the huge living room window out and the couch, TV, TV stand and all the furniture ended up floating out."

She said her brother, Cameron Guy, quickly blew up two floats and gave one to his mother. They crawled out a window, she said, but hit a current that carried their mom off. Her brother ended up clinging to a tree with Danielle Rigney.

Their mother was found hours later down behind the area near the Waverly Dollar Tree, where she worked, in a sharp curve of Trace Creek. She died Aug. 21 at Three Rivers Hospital.

Brake loved her family, co-workers, holiday gatherings, birthdays and home decor. 

"She worked at The Dollar Tree ever since it opened in Waverly. I remember she used to say she thought she’d like to work at Dollar Tree, so when we moved here and they built one in town she was super excited when she applied and got the job."

She loved sitting in her recliner watching videos on home decor and organization tips.

"She was always coming up with something to do around her house that she had seen on YouTube," her daughter recalled. "She loved being a grandma. I remember being terrified to tell her I was having my first child, but I think she was more excited than me.  She made sure to teach us the importance of family and sticking together."

Lilly Bryant, 15, was swept away by the floodwaters when she, her sister Kaylynn and two friends went outside their home on Saturday to take photos of the rising water. 

Chelsea Simons, a close family friend handling interviews for the Bryants, said “a wall of water came out of nowhere.” It smashed into the girls and dragged them apart.

Lilly was last seen by her sister floating away on a piece of debris.

Lilly was the last missing person found.

“The not knowing is the hardest part,” Simons said. “We searched for 11 hours (Sunday) until curfew."

Lilly began her freshman year of high school last week.

Her funeral took place Aug. 28 at the Humphreys County Funeral Home.

Kellen Cole Burrow Vaughn was supposed to turn two next month. He loved motorcycles and play fighting with his stepdad. 

“He was just as sweet as can be,” his grandmother, Mandy Burrow said Wednesday. 

Kellen was ripped from his mother's arms in floodwaters on Saturday as she tried to hold onto clotheslines with him and her four other children outside their apartment in Waverly, Tennessee. The other children survived the floods. 

The family learned he was dead on Tuesday evening, Burrow said. Kellen’s mother, Brittney McCord was asked to submit DNA for testing to help identify him, Burrow said. 

“This is hard. We don’t’ know anything yet. We just found out last night,” she said Wednesday. 

Funeral arrangements had not been confirmed as of Wednesday afternoon, but Burrow said she knew one thing that would be part of the remembrances. 

“We definitely want bikes in the procession,” she said. “He loved bikes. Whenever we figure out the date, we’ll be out there.”

Lucy Connor, 7, died when flood waters carried her away from her mom and out of their family home in Waverly, Tenn., family members said.

A cousin in a boat rescued the girl's mom, Michelle "Shelly" Feliciano, shortly after, relatives said.

Lucy loved fishing, the Gilmore Girls and magic, her family posted in an online funeral home obituary. Lucy wanted to go to Yale University to study forensic science, relatives said.

She also wanted to be a famous YouTuber.

Hallie Lee Gerber deeply loved her community, her sister said. She died after floodwaters ripped her from her home.

The 60-year-old moved to Waverly in the mid-2000's when she followed her parents to the tiny Tennessee community. They moved to the area in the mid-1990s but eventually moved away. Her mother currently lives in West Virginia.

Gerber was the vice chair of the Highland Rim Economic Corporation based in Dickson. She also volunteered with Helping Hands of Humphreys County, a food distribution center that provided food to people in need, her sister Cathy Riotto said.

"I think she had a very big heart with helping out the community," Riotto said.

Gerber is survived by her daughter Georgia Charles, who lives in Maine, and her son Christopher Gerber, who lives in Pennsylvania. Gerber's son Buckley Gerber died nearly a decade ago after a car crash, Riotto said.

Riotto and her sister weren't close due to the distance between Pennsylvania and Tennessee and their difference in ages. She said the family was shocked at the news of Gerber's death. Gerber planned to visit Pennsylvania this fall to attend a festival with her sister.

Gerber was an animal lover, her sister said, and rescued several chow chows over the years.

Joshua Hendrix turned 35 earlier this month, and his girlfriend, Marlana McIntosh threw a birthday party for him — his first one ever.

The New England Patriots fan and McIntosh shared a whirlwind romance. They both grew up in foster homes and bonded over the experience. They initially met on Facebook, but after their first in-person meeting two months ago, the couple walked away knowing they had found true love.

"When we met each other, we knew. We knew from the very beginning," she said.

The couple moved in together last week in Murray, Ky. He previously lived in Waverly with Misty Stanfield, a woman whom he viewed as a mother figure and called mom. He told Stanfield he loved her and her husband for the first time just last week.

Stanfield told The Tennessean that Hendrix had spent the last few years searching for himself. He found purpose through his Christian faith and eventually through McIntosh, whom Stanfield called the love of his life. She said he planned to marry her. 

Hendrix commuted daily for his job at Dan Post Boot Company, a boot store in Waverly. That's what brought him to the city the day the deadly floodwaters came.

He was near the Waverly Walmart when floods swept away his truck. The last conversation the couple had was him telling her that his truck was flooding. Then he went quiet and McIntosh heard only rushing water. 

"That last conversation will probably live with me forever, because it's the scariest conversation we ever had," she said.

Mark Kee, 57, made friends wherever he went.

The Waverly resident, and lover of history, guns and knives, had a kind soul and an inquisitive mind, said his son Michael Cody Sandefer.

“He had this very zen way about him,” Sandefer said. “He could explain things to you … in five words that made more sense than any book.”

Mark Kee and his wife, Kim Kee, have run the local pawn shop for roughly 12 years. Through his business, he got to bargain with others and learn their stories.

His father loved knives so much, Sandefer said, he made them, traded them and dealt them. He made countless friends, including Japanese knife maker Hiroshii Suzuki.

As floodwaters poured into Waverly on Saturday, Mark and Kim Kee’s house was swept off its foundation.

“(My father) was ejected from the house, and his body was battered and he drowned,” Sandefer said. “He just couldn’t get ahold of anything.”

When Mark Kee’s friends looked for him Sunday, they saw his white pickup truck pinned to a pole near Joe Street. Sandefer said that was an heirloom Mark Kee loved. The family will try to fix it up. 

“He’s just a wonderful human being,” he said. “Everybody loved him.”

Leslie Jean Meek Kersten, 51, of Waverly, died Aug. 21 as a result of the flood.

Survived by her husband, Henry William Kersten, a daughter, a son and other family, Leslie was a member of St. Patrick Catholic Church in McEwen and a member of the Rainbow for Girls, her family posted in her obituary.

At the time of her death she worked as a Financial Services Representative for FirstBank in Waverly.

"Leslie was the sweetest lady," said Kayla Brake, whose mother also died in the flood. "She was my absolute favorite teller at First Bank here."

According to her obituary, she loved working in the dirt, crafting, sewing, and fixing anything mechanical.

"She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and friend to so many," her family said. She had a loving and kind smile that will never be forgotten."

 Visitation took place Aug. 27 at the Luff-Bowen Funeral Home in McEwen.

Scott Kilburn was always helping others, according to his family — something that held true until his final moments. The last time his wife, Tracy Kilburn, saw him was after he jumped into the floodwaters the morning of Aug. 21 to help a woman who had been swept up in them.

She said a “rush of water” hit just after he went in, causing the levels to rise quickly. Her husband went under shortly after, unable to reach the woman.  

Tracy Kilburn sat on the roof of their truck for hours before she was rescued. She doesn’t know how to swim and watched neighbors struggling in the water around her, two of whom died, she said. Somehow, despite debris piling against the truck and everything being swept away around it, the truck never floated away.  

Scott Kilburn’s sister, Tammy Elliott, said family members were out all day searching Waverly for him. She spent hours desperately trudging through an overflowing creek, getting cuts and bruises and dodging snakes.

It wasn’t until 8 p.m. that his family learned he was dead. He was 49.

On Sept. 1, Elliott sat with her sister-in-law to help tell the story about who her brother was. He adored his wife and was a big hit with the kids in the family – pushing them around in a wheelbarrow, playing football and cracking jokes at family gatherings. He leaves behind his wife, two brothers, his sister, five stepchildren and 11 step-grandchildren.  

“Scott had a big heart,” Elliott said. “He loved family being together. He loved life. He was glad he woke up every morning.”

After a funeral at Luff-Bowen Funeral Home, Scott Kilburn was laid to rest on Aug. 27 at Richlawn Cemetery in Waverly.

Mary Luten, 59, died while saving others in the Waverly flood, friends, strangers and neighbors said.

"She was aware of the flood and the waters rising, but instead of running to safety, she was running door to door to alert others," said Tahitra Gilliam of Columbia. "Mary saved the lives of two people that we know about and others have said there are more."

She died Aug. 21 at Three Rivers Hospital.

Luten, who is survived by her sons and other family, attended a different church every Sunday to worship, her family wrote in her obituary. 

"She was a strong and giving person who loved to laugh and spread joy to others," it reads. "Mary loved children and was affectionately known as 'Brookside Mom.' She was also goofy and loved taking pictures."

Funeral Services were held on Aug. 26 in the Humphreys County Funeral Home.

Amber Newman, 22, was a friendly staple at the Waverly, Tennessee, Dollar General store near the downtown of the small, rural community.

Her brother-in-law Mark St. Amant confirmed Wednesday that she was swept away by floodwaters and died. She was at work at the time.

“She’s brought joy to a lot of people. She’s bubbly and always smiley,” St. Amant said. “She knew when to stand up for herself, but she was a ball of personality and was very happy.”

Hundreds of people reached out to say they were praying she would be found, he said. Searchers were joined by dozens of volunteers who told him they came out just for her in the days after the flooding. They looked for everyone they could find, he said, but it was love for Newman that got them out to Waverly.

"We need people to step up and take her place in friendship, compassion, being genuine, smiles, joyfulness and love. She was a joy to be around, and we need more people like her now more than ever," St. Amant said.

Each of his six children called her “auntie” and loved her, he said. He thought of her less as a “sister in law” and just an extra sister.

Her large family lives in Erin, Tennessee, and around the Humphreys County area.

Joe Reeves held the front door of his house open as the full force of flash flood waters pressed against it so his wife, Angela, and daughter, Gabbie, could escape. His wife and daughter were pulled apart by the rushing water and later rescued, a family member said.

Joe Reeves was quickly pulled into the middle of the rapids. It was the last time his family saw him until his daughter, Rachel Reeves, identified his body in the wee hours of Aug. 22. He was 58. 

On Thursday, Rachel Reeves, 29, shared about the kind and dedicated man her father was. 

"The three most important things to dad were God, family and country," she said. 

She said her parents, who had seven children, had just moved into their Joe Street home in Waverly two weeks ago from a neighboring town. Her mom has stage 4 cancer, and her dad doted on her, along with the rest of his family.

"He loved my mom more than anything in this world," Rachel Reeves said. The pair were married for more than 20 years. 

The family plans to cremate Joe Reeves' remains — something he had requested well before his death. 

"That just tells what kind of person my dad was," Rachel Reeves said. "He didn't want to take any more space up on Earth, so he chose to be cremated."

Joe Reeves' memorial service is scheduled for noon Saturday at Spann Funeral Home at 1961 Hwy 48 N in Dickson. The family has asked that all attendees wear masks. 

In life and in death, 7-month-old twins Rileigh and Ryan Rigney were inseparable. 

"It didn't matter where you took them ... they had to be touching somehow," said Danielle Hall, the twins' mother. "One would always either have their hand or foot touching the other one, and if you separated them, they wouldn't stop crying."

Danielle, her husband, Matt Rigney, and their two other daughters managed to escape the floods, but the twins didn't. 

For the family, the birth of Rileigh and Ryan was a blessing. 

"They were both premature," step-grandmother Jeanna Hall said. "Our family is mostly girls, so I know at least my husband was praying for a boy."

Ryan, or "Bubba," as his mother called him, was always smiling, even though he didn't have teeth yet.

For Matt Rigney, Ryan was his "little chunky buddy." Ryan was going to be his football player, he said, and Rileigh, his cheerleader.

Rileigh was "always smiling," Danielle Hall said, and had just started to crawl the week before.

"(Rileigh) loved the attention," she said. "If you pulled your phone out, she knew how to pose for you."

Robin Shawl, 57, was with her sister-in-law and neighbor Donna Bradley when the flooding in Waverly began. They were separated as the water rose around their shared duplex, and both died in the floodwaters.

Shawl, a Tennessee native, is survived by brother Christopher Bradley, sons Jeremiah, Matthew and Nicholas, stepdaughter Jessica, and three grandchildren, all of whom live in Humphreys County.

You could always find him with a big smile and a big white cowboy hat. And you could always find him at Loretta Lynn's Ranch.

Wayne Spears was the longtime foreman at the country music star's Tennessee property, where he oversaw maintenance and was a fixture at live performances and special events. He died after being swept away by floodwaters, the ranch confirmed on Facebook.

"The Ranch will never be the same without him, but he will always be remembered for his ready smile, kind heart and willingness to go the extra mile for everyone around him," the ranch wrote. "Only God could build a man like Wayne Spears."

Spears, whose family lives in Texas, had a cowboy's heart. He loved hunting and trail riding, whether that meant saddling up on a horse or off-roading in a souped-up Jeep. He guided visitors on trails and made extra time to help them out. One visitor wrote that he'd once helped her find a vet for her horse at 5 a.m.

"He took such good care of things here on the ranch for us," Loretta Lynn wrote on Facebook. "He's one of us, and the whole Lynn family is heartbroken."

Nathanal Whitsett, 16, and Charlie Voegeli, 14, were inseparable growing up as autistic brothers, family members said.

Both Nathanal and Charlie were both swept out of the same window when flood waters crashed the Waverly apartment building they were at.

Nathanal died; Charlie was rescued after he hung on to a clothesline post for 40 minutes and is now recovering from some cuts. Nathanal's body was found, though not immediately identified, because he was so well groomed and appeared older, his mother Kelsey Schultz and stepmother Mary Turney said.

“You didn’t find one without the other,” Turney said.

Nathanal was a member of Waverly Church of Christ and is described as a Bible student who identified strongly with Moses, who was said to have a speech impediment, Schultz and Turney said.

But Nathanal spoke well enough to be a communication bridge between other autistic youth and adults, including teachers, Waverly Church of Christ Youth Minister Kyle Mashburn said.  

Nathanal was especially known for "really big hugs," family said.

“You had to be a special person to get a hug, but the circle was pretty large,” Mashburn said. “He was always dreaming big and talking about plans for big things. He was a very, very neat kid.”

Visitation is scheduled at 6-8 p.m. Thursday and 9-10 a.m. Friday at the Humphreys County Funeral Home, 217 E. Main St. in Waverly. The funeral service is at 10 a.m. Friday at the Humphreys County Funeral Home.