[Episcopal News Service] Two alumnae and two children with ties to the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, are among the 134 known people who were killed by the July 4 floods in the Texas Hill Country.
“This tragedy has touched not only residents of the region but also families across the country for whom the river has long been a cherished place of summer gathering, recreation and camp life,” Robert Pearigen, the university’s vice-chancellor, said in a July 15 letter to students and alumni.
The University of the South, more commonly known as Sewanee, is governed by 27 Episcopal dioceses. Many Episcopal bishops serve on its board.
The deadly flood began early July 4 when a slow-moving storm brought heavy downpours to the region, dropping as much as 15 inches of rain on parts of Kerr County and causing parts of the Guadalupe River to rise as high as 30 feet in 45 minutes. Most of the fatalities were in Kerr County, and at least 101 people are still missing as of July 16.
Alyson Crouch Hardin and her daughter, Josephine Hardin, graduated from Sewanee in 1982 and 2019, respectively. They both died in the floods. Crouch Hardin’s husband and Josephine’s father, Bill Hardin, survived by clinging to a tree near their vacation home in Hunt until a helicopter arrived seven hours later. Crouch Hardin’s sister, Kimberly Crouch, graduated from Sewanee in 1985.
Crouch Hardin was serving as senior warden of All Saints Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when she died.
Clay Parisher was 20 months old when he died after floodwaters engulfed his family’s home near the riverfront. Parisher’s grandparents, Clint Parsley and Alex Albright, both graduated from Sewanee in 1977.
Eight-year-old Ellen Getten, a Houston resident, was among the 27 campers and staff who died at Camp Mystic, an all-girls nondenominational Christian camp located east of Kerrville along the river.
Getten’s father, Doug Getten, graduated from Sewanee in 2001. Her aunt and uncle, Liz Getten Atwood and Chad Atwood, both graduated from Sewanee in 1999.
Getten’s funeral took place July 16 at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston.
Near Camp Mystic, the river’s water level peaked at 37.52 feet, surpassing the highest recorded crest in 1932. The cabin Getten was staying in, Bubble Inn, was closest to the river, and one of the camp’s co-directors died while trying to rescue her and her cabinmates.
Alyson Crouch Hardin and Josephine Hardin also were alumnae of Camp Mystic and had previously served as camp counselors.
Anyone interested in reaching out to the families is asked to contact Nancee Martin, Sewanee’s interim university chaplain.
Churchwide, Episcopalians are encouraged to donate to one of several relief funds. The Diocese of West Texas has launched a donation webpage and Episcopal Relief & Development. West Texas Bishop David G. Read told Episcopal News Service in a July 15 interview that sharing donation information on social media and elsewhere is “much appreciated.”
Pearigen encouraged Episcopalians to continue to pray for the victims and rescue workers.
“Please continue to keep in your prayers all who grieve and all who have been affected by this overwhelming tragedy and the ongoing storms across the region,” he said in his letter.