SAN ANTONIO – Hundreds of grieving families across Texas are bracing to mark one year without their loved ones after the devastating Hill Country floods of July 4, 2025.
Among them are Malorie and Wade Lytal of San Antonio, whose 8-year-old daughter, Kellyanne, died at Camp Mystic.
The couple said their faith, a push for answers and a new foundation created in their daughter’s name have helped them endure their unimaginable new reality.
Sitting in a pew at their church, Malorie Lytal said the couple’s faith in God has been “the only thing that has gotten us through this.”
Wade Lytal described how religious holidays have taken on new weight since their daughter’s death.
“For a lot of us now, it’s Easter,” he said, pointing to the Christian belief in Jesus conquering death and having eternal life.
The couple said their loss has strengthened, not weakened, their faith.
“We live in a broken world. I know mistakes happen. I know that, you know, it cost our daughter her life,” said Malorie Lytal. “As the Bible says, I truly think that Jesus wept. I don’t think that this was God’s plan for Kellyanne’s life.”
The flood disaster at Camp Mystic killed 25 campers and two counselors.
In the months that followed, the tragedy spurred investigations, lawsuits and an effort by some families to press for stronger protections for children at summer camps.
The Lytals are among those families, a group known as “Heaven’s 27,” who advocated for new state laws aimed at preventing similar tragedies and said they succeeded.
But they are still pushing for more transparency about what happened in the hours — and even days — before the floodwaters claimed their daughter’s life.
“What we have been fighting for is transparency and honesty to get answers,” Malorie Lytal said. “It’s beyond devastating to learn how preventable this was.”
At the same time, the couple is focused on preserving Kellyanne’s legacy through a foundation and movement called Kindness 4 Kellyanne. The group sells hats, bracelets, stickers and more, with proceeds used to support acts of kindness and community assistance.
Malorie Lytal said she is often moved when she sees strangers wearing items tied to her daughter’s memory.
“I’ll see people have her stuff on and I walk past them and they don’t even know who I am,” she said. “And I just want to say thank you.”
Wade Lytal said the foundation is working on projects with the Alamo Heights Independent School District, including donating a therapy dog, and the family has helped pay for a life-saving surgery for a girl in Belize.
“I know that Kellyanne would love that,” Malorie Lytal said.
As the one-year mark approaches, the couple said they are still learning how to move through milestones that now hurt — birthdays, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, the first day of school and other markers of family life.
Wade Lytal said that in the early months after the tragedy, he set a goal simply to endure.
“I remember 11 months ago just telling myself, ‘Make it a year,’” he said. “Just get through a year, because once you make it through a year, everything will be on repeat, and you’ll kind of know how to approach it.”
Malorie Lytal characterizes life much differently in this new reality: living for her husband and their youngest daughter, but also striving to get to Kellyanne in heaven.
“When that time comes, do not shed one tear for me,” she said. “Because that reunion will be so beautiful when I’m with her again.”
Remembering the victims of the Hill Country floods: