
Killed in church shooting, pastor’s daughter was ‘totally sweet’
Updated 8:34 pm, Thursday, November 9, 2017
Read Ward's story: Shooting victim Joann Ward’s life was all about family
Read Ward's story: Shooting victim Joann Ward’s life was all about family
Crystal Holcombe, wife of injured John Holcombe, was killed with three of her five children from an earlier marriage: Emily, Megan and Greg. Her unborn child also did not survive. Crystal was a "loving mother and wonderful-hearted woman," her first father-in-law John Hill said.
Bryan Holcombe, who filled in for Pastor Frank Pomeroy, died with his wife Karla. They were described as "happy people who never had a negative thing to say" by their friend, Jim Miller.
Their son Marc Daniel Holcombe died with the his year-old daughter, Noah, the youngest victim.
Read more about the Holcombes: Eight members of one family killed in massacre at Baptist church
Crystal Holcombe, wife of
... moreRobert Corrigan was a 29-year Air Force Veteran and he worked at WellMed at The Oaks in San Antonio before he died. He and Shani were Floresville residents, who were high school sweethearts from northern Michigan, according to the Associated Press.
Mourning friends who donated to the family via GoFundMe said the two were "wonderful people who had hearts of gold."
"Chief Corrigan was such a great mentor and person," another said. "He and his wife mad this a better world."
Read More: A year after son’s death, Robert and Shani Corrigan perished in church attack
Robert Corrigan was a 29-year Air Force Veteran and he worked at WellMed at The Oaks in San Antonio before he died. He and Shani were Floresville residents, who were high school
... moreWarden stepped in front of her grandson, Zachary Poston, as a shield. Her family is calling her their "hero" in an online fundraising campaign. One of Warden's family members wrote on Facebook that she was "blessed to have the kindest person (she) has ever know as (her) sister."
Read more about Warden: Grandmother sacrifices self to save grandchildren
Warden stepped in front of her grandson, Zachary Poston, as a shield. Her family is calling her their "hero" in an online fundraising campaign. One of Warden's family members wrote on Facebook
... moreChurch friends told the San Antonio Express-News the last time they saw White was on Friday, in the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs pantry.
Church friends told the San Antonio Express-News the last time they saw White was on Friday, in the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs pantry.
Friends called Sara and Dennis Johnson "the great couple."
Read More: First Baptist Church deacon and his wife had been part of congregation for 11 years
Friends called Sara and Dennis Johnson "the great couple."
Read More: First Baptist Church deacon and his wife had been part of congregation for 11 years
This June 18, 2017, photo provided by Lorena Santos shows her relatives Theresa Rodriguez and Richard Rodriguez in San Antonio, Texas. 51-year-old Richard Rodriguez and his wife, Theresa, were members of the First Baptist Church.
Read more:
During 11 years of marraige, couple ‘stuck together like glue’
This June 18, 2017, photo provided by Lorena Santos shows her relatives Theresa Rodriguez and Richard Rodriguez in San Antonio, Texas. 51-year-old Richard Rodriguez and his wife, Theresa, were
... moreHaley Krueger, 16, died in the Sutherland Springs church shooting on Nov. 5, 2017, DPS officials confirmed.
Read more: Dreams cut short for high school studentHaley Krueger, 16, died in the Sutherland Springs church shooting on Nov. 5, 2017, DPS officials confirmed.
Read more: Dreams cut short for high school studentTara E. McNulty, 33, died in the Sutherland Springs church shooting on Nov. 5, 2017, DPS officials confirmed. She is seen here in the middle.
Read more: Shooting victim Tara McNulty tended bar, and treated patrons like extended family
lessTara E. McNulty, 33, died in the Sutherland Springs church shooting on Nov. 5, 2017, DPS officials confirmed. She is seen here in the middle.
Read more: Shooting victim Tara McNulty
... moreKeith Braden was a cancer survivor. His adopted daughter Rebecca Metcalf said of him that "he was a wonderful dad."
Read more: Keith Braden, 62, recalled as loving father, diligent worker
Keith Braden was a cancer survivor. His adopted daughter Rebecca Metcalf said of him that "he was a wonderful dad."
Read more: Keith Braden, 62, recalled as loving father, diligent worker
Read more: Grandmother sacrifices self to save grandson in Sutherland Springs shooting
Read more: Grandmother sacrifices self to save grandson in Sutherland Springs shooting
less
Noah Holcombe and her father Marc Daniel "Danny" Holcombe died in the Nov. 5 attack. She was 18-months old.
Noah Holcombe and her father Marc Daniel "Danny" Holcombe died in the Nov. 5 attack. She was 18-months old.
Marc Daniel "Danny" Holcombe was one of the eight Holcombe family members killed in the shooting.
Marc Daniel "Danny" Holcombe was one of the eight Holcombe family members killed in the shooting.
Crystal Holcombe and three of her children died in the Nov. 5 shooting. Crystal was 8-months pregnant.
Crystal Holcombe and three of her children died in the Nov. 5 shooting. Crystal was 8-months pregnant.
Bryan (John Bryan Holcombe and his wife Karla Holcombe) was the guest pastor of the church and had been filling in for Pastor Frank Pomeroy the day of the shooting. He and his wife Karla had been married for more than two decades.
lessBryan (John Bryan Holcombe and his wife Karla Holcombe) was the guest pastor of the church and had been filling in for Pastor Frank Pomeroy the day of the shooting. He and his wife Karla had
... moreSUTHERLAND SPRINGS — There was a routine when Rod Green steered his motorcycle or drove his truck into the parking lot of Sutherland Springs Baptist Church and saw one of the pastor’s two daughters, Annabelle.
Always smiling, she would run to him.
“She had to give me my hugs,” Green said Thursday. “She was totally sweet, innocent and sweet.”
That vision sticks in the mind of Green, a Vietnam veteran who says he never expected to see the kind of carnage in this small town that he saw in Saigon during the Tet Offensive.
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Media: San Antonio Express-NewsOthers here also readily recalled Pomeroy’s hugs and smile. Raised in the church her father led as pastor, the outgoing teenager was among 26 worshipers killed Sunday when Devin P. Kelley methodically shot hundreds of rounds at them and others with a Ruger AR-556 rifle.
Annabelle was 14. She and her older sister, Merina, were adopted by Frank and Sherri Pomeroy. Pastor Frank, as folks call him, described Annabelle as “one very beautiful, special child” in an interview with ABC News. CNN quoted Sherri Pomeroy as saying “the one thing that gives me a sliver of encouragement is the fact that Belle was surrounded by her church family that she loved fiercely, and vice versa.”
Green said Annabelle grew up in the church, often moving from one group of people to another when her father asked congregants to greet each other. That, he said, had been her nature since the Pomeroys adopted her, when she was a dark-haired, dark-eyed toddler.
“I’ve always been her ‘Mr. Rod’ since she was a baby,” said Green, 71. “She’s a very special person and no matter when I saw her or where I saw her, she had to stop and come running.”
“She was just a very loving person since a baby on up ‘till now. She’s never changed. … She loved everybody and the church raised her as a family,” he said. “Frank and Sherri shared her with us.”
Even on days like last Sunday, when her parents were out of state, Annabelle made it a point to attend her hometown church after the family moved to Seguin, where she attended high school, said Debbie Marx, a church regular.
“You couldn’t go to Sutherland Springs Baptist Church and not see her,” Marx said. “She was always helping the Sunday School teacher with the small children.”
Annabelle had her interests beyond church. One was playing soccer in high school, Green said, and another was baseball. She also enjoyed riding with her dad, who had recently bought a 2010 turquoise and cream Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic.
She had a fondness for animals as well, said her grandmother, Rita Brown, and was attached to Brown’s 13-year-old Chihuahua. Though slowing down, Lulu rushed out to greet Annabelle when she got off the school bus every afternoon.
The dog, Brown added, has been hanging her head over the past few days.
“Annabelle was like her grandma,” she said. “Everything I bought her was perfect and she just loved everything. I had just bought her a birthday present and it was a purple blanket with pom-poms and it just lit her up like candles. She was such a beautiful little girl. I just don’t know what else to say except I’m going to miss her so much. She was the light of my life.”
Staff Writer Silvia Foster-Frau contributed to this report. | sigc@express-news.net