Family's 40 years of memories gone but cherished rocks remain unscathed after Oklahoma tornado's destruction
“This house is our life," Valerie Underwood said, holding back tears as she stood in the midst of the destruction's aftermath – a scene of splintered wood, shattered glass and saturated nostalgia.
Oklahoma woman's childhood home destroyed in Sulphur tornado
Valerie Underwood's childhood home was destroyed in an EF-3 tornado that struck Sulphur, Oklahoma, on Saturday. Luckily, the house was empty at the time. However, she still finds it painful to see a place with so many memories laid to ruin.
SULPHUR, Okla. – All that remains are a few rocks to remind Valerie Underwood of what once was.
These weren’t ordinary pieces of rubble but cornerstones that once formed the foundation of the past 40 years of her childhood home in Sulphur, Oklahoma, which was decimated by a deadly and ferocious EF-3 tornado that shredded decades of support.
"This house is our life," she said, holding back tears as she stood in the midst of the destruction's aftermath – a scene of splintered wood, shattered glass and saturated nostalgia.
OKLAHOMA TORNADO SURVIVOR CREDITS HER FAITH FOR SAVING LIFE AS ROOF ABOVE HER SUCKED AWAY
Valerie Underwood's childhood home was destroyed in an EF-3 tornado that struck Sulphur, Oklahoma, on Saturday.
(FOX Weather)
‘It just hurts’
The unrecognizable cherished site served as her parents' home for their 10 children until their passing. As Underwood looked around, memories of the past flooded her mind, and she couldn't help but cry at the thought of what had been lost.
"We have a lot of memories here. We had a lot of birthdays, a lot of family get-togethers," she said. "And we went through a lot of funerals."
When Underwood first saw her childhood home leveled, the pain she felt inside was unimaginable.
"I cannot describe. I can't. It just hurts," she wept. "It just tears me apart to know that we all lived here at one time. Now it's gone."
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Drone footage shows destroyed businesses and homes in Sulphur, Oklahoma, on April 28 after an intense tornado passed through the town.
New stepping stones
Despite her grief, she will always remember her home as a happy place, thanks to her late parents.
"My parents were real spiritual," she said. "They raised us in church, and our family is still all together here in Sulphur."
On Wednesday, Underwood and her sister came to collect rocks scattered along the property that once adorned her home, showcasing copper red and stark white colors on the facade. They plan to have them engraved and placed on their parents' graves.
"I'm just glad my mom and dad were not here to see this because they probably would have been home," Underwood said.
Underwood said her family would one day rebuild amidst the heartache, but it wouldn’t be the same.
"It won’t be what we grew up in," she said, reflecting on memories associated with the house now cherished through life's new stepping stones, something even Mother Nature could not destroy.