‘It’s just losing part of your heart’: Tanya Burwick’s children remember her in wake of San Angelo flood

SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — Over 100 people have been confirmed dead after torrential flash flooding tore through Texas on July 4. Among that total is San Angelo’s lone fatality, Tanya Burwick. Her loved ones have shared her legacy.

Tanya Burwick, a 62-year-old woman who was reported missing amid law enforcement’s emergency response to the floods on July 4, was found dead on the morning of July 5, according to the San Angelo Police Department. News of her passing spread through the local community and, eventually, the nation.

Lindsey and Zac Burwick, Tanya Burwick’s children, remember their mother by the love she poured into everyone. Here is their account of her life and memory.

A heartwrenching discovery

The Burwicks stated that their mother had likely been on her way to work at a Walmart Neighborhood Market in San Angelo when the heavy rainfall brought flash flooding to the city. The siblings said that, although their mom and dad had received multiple weather alerts overnight, they couldn’t have seen the impending deluge coming.

“She just had no idea,” Zac Burwick said.

Lindsey Burwick shared that she and her brother were operating a fireworks stand in Blackwell, Texas, in the days prior to the floods. She was initially asleep during the morning of Independence Day when she had missed a call from her father. Calling back, she learned that her mother had called her dad in a “frantic” state, saying that she had hit floodwaters.

She said her father tried to calm her mom over the phone while traveling to her. He would get stuck at a gas station due to the raging waters, however.

“My father said it was the worst flood that he’s ever seen in the San Angelo area,” Lindsey Burwick said.

Lindsey Burwick would then wake up her brother, who was also in Blackwell. But, with roughly 58 miles between them and San Angelo, what could they do?

“We we just kind of in shock, just not knowing what to do,” Lindsey Burwick said. “Do we open up the fireworks stand? Do we go down and help Dad? But Dad said that the roads were closed.”

Listening to the advice of their father, the siblings opened their fireworks stand. People would come to help them run the stand, but as the hours passed without hearing a word from their mother, Lindsey and Zac Burwick grew tense.

The silence would eventually be broken, but not in the way the Burwicks wanted.

“One of our cousins and her husband and family friends were out searching the streets for her vehicle, and we get a text message with her vehicle submerged in water,” Lindsey Burwick said. “Our hearts sunk.”

The duo immediately left the fireworks stand and drove to San Angelo to help their father. After receiving additional confirmation that the vehicle was Tanya Burwick’s car, the siblings were cleared to return home.

The next morning, Lindsey and Zac Burwick received the heartbreaking call. Their mother’s body had been found, located multiple blocks away from where her car was discovered.

“We try not to think about what she was going through in her last minute,” Tanya Burwick said. “To know that she was scared and alone is what breaks our hearts the most. But we know that she was strong, and she’s now pain-free and with all of our loved ones in heaven.”

A legacy, etched with love

With her mother’s death having happened only days ago, Lindsey Burwick shared that rain has now taken on a new meaning for her.

“Even with the little, smallest rainstorm or whatnot now — even us, being farming and ranching, we need the rain — but now, I’ve got a little bit of PTSD,” Lindsey Burwick said. “Fear of just storms, period, right now, and will for a while.”

However, amid the storm of personal loss and flood recovery, Zac Burwick said the outpouring of support from San Angelo and communities beyond regarding his mother has been a “blessing.”

“I don’t think she realized how loved she was,” Zac Burwick said.

The pain remains, though. Her son described Tanya Burwick as being “loving” and “very empathetic” before sharing a fond memory.

“When my dog had parvo, she wanted me to call the vet to make sure they left the light on for him because he was scared of the dark,” Zac Burwick said. “So it’s just losing a part of your heart, really.”

Although Tanya Burwick has died, she lives on through the memories and stories of her loved ones — and loved they indeed were, according to her daughter.

“It’s her love for people, her love for her family, her grandchildren,” Lindsey Burwick said. “We just want her to be remembered as a great person, a great family, a great wife, a great mother, a great grandmother, friend, coworker and member of the community. She was a one-of-a-kind, and she’s going to be really missed.”