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Tornado casualties
Deaths caused by the
tornado that struck Lubbock on May 11, 1970.
Victims ranged in age
from 9 months to 88 years old. Thirteen women, nine men, three boys and one girl
perished.
Their names are on
memorials about a half-mile apart. A plaque on the south side of the fountain at
Buddy Holly Plaza, 7th Street and Avenue Q, bears the inscription, "In memory of
those who perished in the 1970 tornado." A stone monument at the northeast
corner of Broadway and Avenue Q has the inscription, "In memory of those who
lost their lives in the May 11, 1970 tornado."
• Jose Aguilar, 75, 221
N. Ave. M; died May 11 in his destroyed home.
• Helen Machado Alafa,
30, 2908 2nd Place; struck by debris on Fourth Street after leaving car to seek
shelter; died May 21 in West Texas Hospital.
• Johnnye Hobbs Butts,
56, 1902 10th St.; died May 11 in her destroyed home.
• Frank Moreno Canales,
Jr., 33, Uvalde; truck driver died May 11 when his vehicle was destroyed at Loop
289 and U.S. 87.
• Thomas Andrew Cook,
29, Uvalde; truck driver died May 11 when his vehicle was destroyed at Loop 289
and U.S. 87.
• John Stephen Cox, 26,
1615 16th St.; injured after taking refuge outside his car on Clovis Highway
near Avenue Q; died soon after in Methodist Hospital.
• Joseph Glenn Garrett,
29, 1102 Marlboro St.; tossed into a field with his wife and three children when
their home was destroyed; died May 16 in Methodist Hospital.
• Shelbey Curtis Glenn,
52, Idalou area; died a short time after he was brought to Methodist Hospital.
• Otilia Gonzales, 46,
201 N. Ave. L; died May 11 in her destroyed home.
• Dora Bertie Graves,
49, Lubbock; died May 11 after she was thrown from her car on Loop 289 near U.S.
87.
• Ola Belle Hatch, 77,
2101 Cypress Road; found in her destroyed home; died May 13 in Reese Air Force
Base Hospital.
• Ruth Knight, 63,
2201-A Mesa Road; died May 11 in her destroyed home.
• Jose Luz Leyva, 13,
Brownsville; son of a migrant farm worker was hit by debris after being sucked
out of a parked car at a traffic light at Erskine Street and U.S. 87; died May
16 in Methodist Hospital.
•
Pedro Lopez,
56, 208 Ave. N; found dead May 11 with head and neck wounds at First Street and
North Avenue M.
• Salvadore Lopez, 57,
208 N. Ave. L; died May 11 in his destroyed home.
• Dale McClintock, 39,
2101 Mesa Road; died May 11 when he was hit by debris while trying to open storm
cellar door for family members at 2121 Cypress Road.
• Alan Raye Medlin, 3,
2301 Mesa Road; died May 11 with his parents in their destroyed home.
• Dustin Lance Medlin, 9
months, 2301 Mesa Road; found with his brother and parents in their destroyed
home; died May 12 in Methodist Hospital.
• Kenneth Raye Medlin,
23, 2301 Mesa Road; died May 11 with his wife and son in their destroyed home.
• Mary June Medlin, 22,
2301 Mesa Road; died May 11 with her husband and son in their destroyed home.
• Angela Marie Mora, 9,
1311 Jarvis St.; found laying on top of her two younger sisters buried in the
debris of their destroyed home; died May 19 in Methodist Hospital.
• Estefana Guajardo Paez,
lived on Kemper Street; died May when she was crushed by a falling automobile
after she and eight others were tossed out of a destroyed home at 201 N. Ave. O.
• Frances Rogers, 88,
2105 Cypress Road; sucked from her shattered home and found wrapped in a piece
of tin; died May 20 in Methodist Hospital.
• Aurora J. Salazar, 68,
216 Ave. N; struck by a wall and large chair when the home she and 10 other
people were in at 108 N. Ave. L was destroyed; died May 12 in West Texas
Hospital.
• Lillie Amanda Short,
72, 512 E. Stanford; died May 11 when she was struck by debris in her living
room.
•
Pauline
Zarazua,
39, 2803 First St.; died May 11 when her car was blown off Loop 287 at the U.S.
87 overpass.
Sources:
Wednesday, May, 11, 2005
Lubbock Avalanche Journal
and eyewitness accounts and the book "The Lubbock Tornado."
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