Last week, a husband was on his way home from Taylor to his wife near Granger. When he arrived, his house was gone, but his wife, family and their faith remained.
“I said ‘Not today, God. You’re not taking them today. Don’t do it. Please don’t it, God,’ …. and he just let them go,” said Sharrion Threadgill.
On March 21, Dean Threadgill was leaving his and wife’s business, Taylor Office Products and Taylor Sporting Goods, after work.
“My wife had called me just a bit earlier and told me to stay in town,” he said. “They were under the stairway (at home) – her, my nephew and his wife, niece and great-niece were all in the stairway.”
They hadn’t run away from anything in the house. However, the monster they were hiding from was about to break down everything around them. “I got cut off about a
“I got cut off about a half of a mile from my house,” said Dean of his trip back. “It looked really black down Highway 95. I couldn’t see it was so black with a lot of sideways rain. I waited it out for about five to eight minutes. Talking to a buddy on the phone who had called me, he said ‘Man, that thing’s coming right to your house.’”
Sure enough, that thing came.
A tornado soon barreled through their home at wind speeds of 86-110 mph in the late afternoon Monday. The storm had originated in Round Rock and was captured on video touching down in Round Rock over I-35 near the flyover with S.H. 45. After clipping the edges of Hutto and Taylor, the twister made its way over S.H. 95 between Circleville and Granger before heading to the Threadgills’ house.
Sharrion’s nephew and his family, a wife and two girls dear to Sharrion and many, came to brave the storm with her. One of Sharrion’s grand-nieces recounted to Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell just how dear her aunt considered her during the harrowing experience.
“Talking with young Hunnie she shared with me how her Aunt Bam Bam saved her life. Sharrion Threadgill, aka Aunt Bam Bam, is a hero,” said Gravell. “She reached up amid the tornado to grab Hunnie as she was being lifted from the ground while holding onto and protecting her other niece. Sharrion’s bravery and quick thinking saved all their lives. This is a true Williamson County miracle.”
The tornado blew through in just a little over half a minute. When it was over, the house was no more.
“Nothing but sky. Everything was gone,” remembered Sharrion. “In 35 seconds, my life changed.”
The family then headed to the nephew’s house, which was also damaged. Meanwhile, Dean Threadgill was still trying to get home. After navigating his own danger and survived his truck getting totaled by a pole, he then had to run home.
The storm eventually dissipated near Granger Lake, but not before leaving nothing but rubble for him to find.
“My heart was thumping. I get there and the house is of course just a slab. (The family is) not there. I see some storm chasers that were already there. They said we haven’t talked to anybody,” said Mr. Threadgill, “and then a minute later, my family comes running from the area where my nephew’s house used to be.”
In one of the only confirmed injuries amid no fatalities from the storm, Sharrion suffered bruises and scratches to her back. After a trip to the emergency room, she left but was still effectively immobilized for at least two days before finally being able to walk around the remains of her home on Thursday, March 24.
“I’m kind of over the shock,” she said. “I feel better. I’m able to move, so that’s helped a lot too.”
But in the days before and after Sharrion has begun to walk around, the community has turned out in droves to help the Threadgills through their hardship. “The oputpouring
“The oputpouring of support has been awesome,” said Dean Threadgill. “The insurance folks are doing great with us. “We’re pretty much all settled on that. We just need to clean up now and rebuild.”
Friends and family have also brought water, food, clothes and so much more.
“You wouldn’t believe what people have brought out here,” said Sharrion. “You couldn’t imagine how wonderful those people are.”
She echoed her husband’s sentiment of their intention to stay, and she thanks God for everyone being here today. “He didn’t do this,”
“He didn’t do this,” said Sharrion in regards to the destruction. “God kept me alive and my girls and my nephews. He kept us here.”
Matt Hooks contributed to this story.
