CONNELLSVILLE, Pa. — The funeral for a woman who was killed in flash flooding in Triadelphia, West Virginia last weekend was held Friday in Connellsville.
“It’s been rough. Definitely not what we expected,” said Shaunna McMasters, Lisa McMasters’ daughter.
Lisa McMasters, 59, died in the flash flooding in Triadelphia, West Virginia, Saturday night.
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“She lit up the room,” her daughter said. “She made friends everywhere. Always made people laugh. She was just a very outgoing person.”
McMasters couldn’t swim, but her family said she did everything she could to get to safety.
“We heard she was on a garbage can with her dog, and the water started taking her. One of the neighbors down there tried to save her. She was yelling for help, the water was so fast it just took her down and that was it,” said Javier “Eric” Datiz, her son.
In fact, that water was so fast, it carried her dog, Tucker, far away from home.
“They found the dog 20 miles away,” McMasters said.
Tucker is now safe with McMasters’ boyfriend.
McMasters is one of eight people who officials say died in the flash floods in the Triadelphia and Moundsville areas of West Virginia. Officials say one person is still missing.
Preliminary reports say more than two dozen homes were destroyed, and more than 120 have severe damage.
“When I went in, it was just water everywhere,” Datiz said. “You’ve got to completely rip everything out and rebuild all over again. It looks like a war zone down there. It really does. It’s terrible. And a lot of people have lost a lot of stuff.”
McMasters, who was originally from the Waynesburg area, had lived in Triadelphia for the last 10 to 15 years. The family set up a GoFundMe to help raise money for her funeral, but are also urging people to help the other families as well.
“If you have time, if you don’t have the money, just even going down, the man power to help,” Datiz said. “There’s a lot of cleaning up to do down there.”
While they work to process the unexpected loss of their mom at just 59-years-old, they had a few words of advice to everyone dealing with the devastating floods in the area.
“We have to say our goodbyes, so obviously it’s going to be tough, but to all the families going through it, just stay strong,” Datiz said. “Let them know that you love them.”
If you would like to help the McMasters family, click here.
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