Victims of Deadly Church Shooting Remembered

The names of those killed inside First Baptist Church are slowly coming out.

Law enforcement has yet to release the identities of the victims but family members are coming forth with details and photos of their loved ones.

The victims ranged from 18 months to 77 years old and included multiple members of some families.

Eight members of the Holcomb family were killed in the shooting.

Bryan Holcombe, 60, was the guest preacher at the church Sunday.  He lived on a nearby farm with his wife Karla, 58, who also died in the shooting.  The couple was married for more than two decades and were regular attendees of the church.  They owned and worked in a canvas repair shop in Floresville, Texas, before they retired.

"I'm dumbfounded," the couple's son, Scott Holcombe, told the New York Times.  "This is unimaginable.  My father was a good man, and he loved to preach. He had a good heart."

His sister said their parents had "a strong faith...I feel like my parents, especially my mom, wasn't scared."

The couple also did prison ministry together.

"They were about as close to a true life of Christ as you can get," said family friend Jenna Brown.

The other Holcombe family members who died include Danny, 36, and his 17-month old daughter Noah.   Danny worked as a mechanic at F&W Electrical in Floresville.  Known as "MacGyver," Danny worked 10-to-12-hour days and could fixed practically anything, employees told the Times.

"He was serious about his religion," Jennifer Kincaid told the paper, adding that he often read the Bible from an app on his cell phone.

Little Noah reportedly had dressed as a pumpkin for Halloween and was the miracle child of her parents after they struggled to have a baby.

Crystal Holcombe, 36, who was 8 months pregnant, was also killed. She had five children, and three of them, Emily, 11, Megan, 9 and Greg 13, all died.

Crystal was a widow and married John Holcombe in 2012. She homeschooled her children and loved to bake with them.

Her husband John, who survived the shooting, taught Sunday school at the church and oversaw audio for the services.

Other victims included an Air Force couple who retired to La Vernia, Texas, and was trying out churches when they were slain in Sunday's shooting.
  
Robert Marshall tells the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that his son Scott and daughter-in-law Karen were first-time visitors to the First Baptist Church, the scene of a rampage that left dead 26 congregants, including children.
  
Karen Marshall, 57, had recently returned to Texas after finishing an assignment at Maryland's Andrews Air Force Base.
  
Scott Marshall, 56, was retired from the Air Force and had been working as a civilian contractor and mechanic at Lackland Air Force Base, about 35 miles west of La Vernia.
  
The couple met while they were in the service together more than 30 years ago.

"The rode motorcycles," says Karen's sister-in-law Holly Hannum. "They had a love that lasted."
  
Another victim identified on Facebook by her family was 16-year-old Haley Krueger.

According to CNN, Haley loved children and wanted to become a nurse, her mother says.

She had helped with breakfast that morning at the church.  Haley loved babies and looked forward to a career as a nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit, she said.  

Lula White, 71, was the grandmother of the shooter's wife.  She volunteered frequently at the church, according to friends on her Facebook profile.

"I have no doubt where she is right now. She is in heaven laying her crowns and jewels at the feet of Jesus and celebrating. I love and will miss you Aunt Lula Woicinski White," niece Amy Backus wrote on Facebook. She also shared a post her aunt had shared on her Facebook page just one day before the deadly shooting.

"A human is one breath away from death. Their physical spark of life will immediately disappear as they take the last breath," the post reads.

The Facebook post was written by Waverly Parsons, who describes himself as a chaplain with the Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots in New Orleans.

"My sister was a wonderful, caring person, a God-loving person.  She loved the people in her church. They were all her best friends," Mary Mishler Clyburn told the New York Daily News.  "I miss her badly already.  We texted every day. We loved each other to the moon and back."

Annabelle Pomeroy was the 14-year-old daughter of the pastor, Frank Pomeroy.  Annabelle was a seventh grade student at Briesmeister Middle School.  

Her dad had been in Oklahoma and was not present for the shooting.  He described his daughter as "one very beautiful, special child."

Robert and Shani Corrigan 51, had moved to Texas from Harrison, Michigan. They came to the church to be part of the praise team.

Robert, 51, had served in the Air Force for 30 years.  He was a track star and valedictorian of his class, according to CNN affiliate WWTV.
 
The couple met in high school and married in 1985 after graduation.  Their son, Forrest, died last year, and the pastor at First Baptist Church officiated the funeral.

Joann Ward, a 30-year-old mother of four, reportedly died trying to shield her children from the gunfire.  Her daughters, 7-year-old Emily Garza and 5-year-old Brook Ward, were also killed.

Rihanna Ward, 9, said that her her mother "pushed her down when she saw the shooter open fire," according to a Facebook post by family friend, Vonda Greek Smith.  "I didn't get shot because I was hiding, and momma covered Emily, Ryland & Brooke."

According to BuzzFeedNews, Michael Ward, Joanne's brother-in-law, heard the bullets ringing from the church on Sunday and ran to wake up his brother, Joann's husband.  Chris Ward had worked a late shift the night before and stayed home from service that morning.  Ward told Dallas Morning News that he ran inside the church and carried out his 5-year-old nephew, Ryland, who had four gunshot wounds.
  
Ryland was transferred by helicopter to a San Antonio hospital. 

Gary Zwicke, the uncle of Joann's husband Chris tells PEOPLE, Joann, "cared about people, especially the disabled and people that needed help. She would help disabled people in her community and would help wherever she could."

Richard Rodriguez, 64, and his wife Theresa Rodriguez, 66, longtime members of First Baptist and married 11 years, are also among the dead.  The couple's daughter Regina told the Associated Press that her parents attended the church every Sunday.

A widower, he reportedly found love again and married Theresa in 2006. 

"He came from a big family," says his daughter Regina Amador. "We've just been sitting around  table reminiscing, looking at pictures of them."

"I lost my mom when I was 18," Amador says. "It just sucks because I have to go through this again. I've just been crying and crying. I'm at my family's now — my dad came from a big family, and had tons of sisters and brothers. We've just been sitting around a table, reminiscing, looking at pictures of them. I can't believe this is happening, but it's happening."

Tara McNulty, 33, was remembered as a single mother who loved her children deeply.  

"She was like my soul sister, Amber Maricle told the Washington Post.  "We could literally finish each other's sentences."

Dennis Johnson, 77, and Sara Johnson, 68 were also killed in the church massacre.  Originally from Florida, Sarah worked as a secretary at a landscaping company.

Dennis was a church elder and Sarah worked in the church nursery for more than 30 years. The couple had recently celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary in July.

After the shooting, Dennis' sister-in-law denounced the murder on Facebook as a "thoughtless crime" and mourned her family "with a very heavy, heavy heart."

This post will be updated as more victims are identified.