TORONTO – The Oklahoma medical examiner’s office says it has positively identified those killed in the tornado that ripped through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore.
In all, 24 people were killed – including 10 children – when Monday’s storm ravaged Moore and a slice of Oklahoma City.
One elementary school was reduced to rubble when the tornado hit. Another was heavily damaged.
READ MORE: On the ground in Oklahoma: rain interrupts search
The medical examiner reported that six of the children who died at the Plaza Towers Elementary School suffocated after being buried under a mass of bricks, steel and other materials as the building collapsed.
A seventh child, who perished there, 8-year-old Kyle Davis, was killed instantly by an object that fell on the back of his neck.
On Thursday morning, the first funeral was held as 9-year-old Antonia Candelaria was laid to rest in Oklahoma City.
As Oklahoma residents begin to clean up, residents, family and friends of the victims remember those that perished in the tornado.
Below is a closer look at some of those who were killed in the Oklahoma tornado:
(A full list of victims’ names released by Oklahoma medical examiner’s office can be found here)
Antonia Candelaria, 9
Born on November 16, 2003, Antonia Candelaria is being remembered as a “a beautiful young lady on the inside and out.”
According to Candelaria’s obituary posted on legacy.com, the little girl was never afraid to speak up or try anything.
“She had her own most special and beautiful way of looking at the world,” reads the obituary. “…She would randomly say or point out things that would help others see and understand things in a positive light no matter what the situation was.”
“We will miss our precious little ‘Ladybug’ everyday but will rejoice for the day we will be reunited with her again someday.”
Emily Conatzer, 9
In an interview with CNN’s John Berman, Conatzer’s parents said they saw their daughter just before the tornado.
At 9 years old, she wore ballerina dresses and loved singer Lady Gaga, inspiring her to be a “fashion designer.” Conatzer made some of her own clothing, including a skirt and a hat for her father.
Conazter died when the tornado struck her school.
“We were at lunch with her that day,” said her father, Christopher Conatzer. “And that’s what we think about. What if we just came home? She would still be here.”
Sydney Angle, 9
Nine-year-old Sydney Angle was “everywhere at once” when she was out on the softball field.
According to The Associated Press, Angle’s softball coach Landon McNeill lovingly called the charismatic kid “a pickle.”
He said he was with Sydney’s parents Monday night as they waited at a church for news about their daughter. Her older sister, who was also at the school, made it out safely, and they held out hope that Sydney had ended up with someone else and would turn up.
“Sydney was real quirky,” McNeill said in an interview with The Associated Press. “She could be anywhere and have fun doing it.”
“She loved to play softball and she wanted to succeed at it,” he said.
Terri Long, 49
Terri Long died taking shelter at a 7-Eleven gas station.
In her online obituary, Long loved to read and “camped out to see the Twilight series with her daughters.”
“I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it,” said neighbor Stacey Hymel in an interview with Tulsa, Oklahoma local news site kjrh.com. “… I’ve known her forever. Her husband and I grew up together in these houses and I grew up here. He grew up here.”
The obituary also says that Long often remind her children of a famous Janis Joplin quote “Don’t compromise yourself, you’re all you’ve got.”
Kyle Davis, 8
Nicknamed “The Wall,” Kyle Davis loved soccer and going to monster truck exhibitions at the fairgrounds with his grandfather.
“He was a pretty big kid,” his grandfather Marvin Dixon said to AP. “Whenever he had the ball, other kids would just bounce off of him. That’s why they called him that. … He was just the kindest, most giving kid you would ever meet. He had a grin from ear to ear.”
Hemant Bhonde, 65
Hemant Bhonde, 65, was discovered and idenitifed as one of the 24 victims killed.
In an interview with MSN.ca, the couple’s daughter, Geeta, described her father as a caring and generous man.
“Funny, silly, I mean, give you the shirt off his back, literally. The best guy you’ll ever meet,” she said. “And it’s really hard to think that we don’t know where he is and he might be alone and doesn’t know how to get a hold of us.”
JaNae Hornsby, 9
JaNae Hornsby was described by her family as the life of the party.
“If JaNae was there, you were having a good time. She liked to sing, be a big sister, be a big cousin. She liked to draw,” said JaNae’s father, Joshua Hornsby in an interview with The Associated Press.
Joshua rushed toward the Plaza Towers school when he realized the powerful tornado was bearing down on the town. But it took him 30 minutes to get there and the tornado had already slammed through the building.
“I was just in panic,” Hornsby told AP on Wednesday. “I just kept going until I got to the school and when I got to the school I started to look for JaNae.”
By then, the third-grader was among those suffocated beneath the debris.
“If she was here, she would just have everybody laughing and she would be in the midst of everything. She loved the spotlight,” he said.
Nicolas McCabe, 9
Born June 4, 2004, Nicolas Scott McCabe loved “Legos, country music, and going to the lake where he desired to have his own ‘Pontoon boat’ one day.”
According to his online obituary, McCabe was a bright young man who adored his family and friends at Plaza Towers Elementary.
“Though his years weren’t many, the memories and impressions he left on those he came into contact with is sure to endure forever,” the obituary reads.
Cindy Plumley, 45
Born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Cindy Plumley was a 45-year-old nurse who “enjoyed spending every moment she had with her children and grandchildren,” according to USA Today.
Christopher Legg, 9
Christopher Legg loved playing football, baseball and basketball, according to an obituary posted on a cousin’s website.
Born January 16, 2004, the youngster also faced his diagnosis with skin cancer and an illness that can cause painful inflammation of the knees in young athletes “with the same strength and enthusiasm that he had for life.”
“You were always a friend in his eyes” reads the obituary.
A funeral for Legg is scheduled for this Saturday.
Case Futrell, 4 months and Megan Futrell, 29
According to the Oklahoman, Megan Futrell and her 4-month-old child were killed when the roof collapsed on a 7-Eleven, where the two were taking shelter in a walk-in cooler.
Case was one of two infants who perished in the tornado.
Sydnee Vargyas, 7 months and Karrina Vargyas, 4
The Daily Mail reports that both 7-month-old Sydnee Vargyas and 4-year-old Karrina Vargyas were at home with their mother when the tornado tore their house apart. The mother managed to survive but the youngest Vargyas children were killed.
The girls’ father Phillip Vargyas spoke in an interview with the Daily Mail.
“At this point we have a lot of things to do, little things to do for the girls. … We are trying to move in the right direction but it’s hard to know where to go at all, what to do,” he said.
Shannon Quick, 40
The mother of two boys, Shannon Quick, 40, was also killed in the Oklahoma tornado.
Quick’s 13-year-old son Tanner was injured.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Quick’s mother-in-law said, “If God’s willing to take you, he’s going to take you.” She made the comments in a parking lot outside of an emergency room, as tears spilled down her cheeks. “But I don’t want to lose two of them.”
Randy Smith, 39
Born on April 11, 1974, Randy Smith attended U.S. Grant High School and worked as an electrician by trade.
His obituary states that the 39-year-old “enjoyed playing video games and watching movies with his son Dylan, riding his motorcycle and spending time with his family.”
Funeral services for Smith are scheduled for Friday.
– With files from The Associated Press
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