The tornado that destroyed a small city in the Texas Panhandle and killed three people claimed the life of a woman whose daughter-in-law said she was "an angel on earth."
Becky Randall, whom the Ochiltree County Sheriff’s Office identified as one of the three victims of the twister that roared through the city of Perryton on Thursday, "was born and raised in this town."
"She lived for this town and the people in this town," Randall's daughter-in-law, Randi Cunningham, told NBC News.
The other victims were identified as 11-year-old Matthew Ramirez, who was at his family's trailer when he died, and Cindy Bransgrove, 67, who was at a food bank when she perished, the sheriff's office said.
Randall, who records show was 66, died where she spent most of her days: at the printing shop she owned and ran.
“That’s how everybody knew her,” Cunningham, 38, said. “She was big into faith and God and church and so that was her life.”
But at home, Cunningham said, her four grandchildren affectionately called her "booger."
“Her laugh was infectious. She was full of joy,” the grieving daughter-in-law said. “She knew anything I needed before I needed it.”
“She was our world,” Cunningham said, breaking down in tears.
Randall’s death “definitely, that one hurt for the community,” 25-year-old James Myers, a high school teacher in Perryton, said.
Myers said students have been messaging and emailing him about Randall, who was a fixture in Perryton.
“She’s just a wonderful person,” Myers said. “For kids to come and tell their teachers that this is affecting me, it means that someone was a remarkable person.”
The names of the people who died were released as rescue crews continued to search the ruins and more than 50 people were being treated for injuries at Ochiltree General Hospital in Perryton.
The tornado caused “a lot of damage,” especially to mobile homes and businesses, Ochiltree County Sheriff Terry Bouchard told NBC affiliate KAMR of Amarillo earlier.
Survivors like Myers said the tornado appeared to him to be two twisters that struck simultaneously — and without warning.
"It happened so quickly," Myers told NBC News. "The sirens didn’t even get to go off before the tornado was touching down."
Myers said that "it was basically two tornadoes that tore through town."
"The majority of all the damage came from one of the tornadoes going down Main Street," he said. "It tore up both residential and commercial buildings. I went down there myself to go and check it out. It’s just obliterated."
Some of the buildings, Myers said, "have totally collapsed."
"There are bricks lying on the street as well as telephone poles, lights, different kinds of cables for electric wires; AC units are dangling off of buildings; and all the power is completely out for the town," he said. "They say it’s going to be at least two weeks before we get power."
