Sammy Loehr, who has several family members buried at the cemetery, says people’s headstones are partially buried by dirt, toppled over or just missing.
LEANDER, Texas — Torrential rains and flash flooding in Central Texas not only damaged homes and businesses, but also disrupted the final resting places of many families at Nameless Cemetery, a historic site northwest of Austin.
Sammy Loehr, whose mother, brother, grandparents and great-aunt are all buried at Nameless Cemetery, said he rushed to the site as soon as he heard about the flooding. Loehr said he feared the worst as he walked through the cemetery, which was inundated after Big Sandy Creek overflowed its banks.
“Are they being washed away? Am I going to find them here?” Loehr recalled thinking as he surveyed the damage.
Loehr found his mother’s headstone nearly covered in dirt, with only part of the inscription visible. The markers for his brother and other relatives were missing entirely.
“When I got here the other day, her little face was covered up, but her little eyes were showing,” Loehr said. “It’s heartbreaking, you know?”
Loehr estimates at least 30 headstones were either toppled over or washed away somewhere else by the floodwaters, and he’s determined to find them.
Loehr said his brother’s headstone was handmade by their cousin 20 years ago, and it’s irreplaceable.
“You can’t replace something that somebody put their love into 20 years ago with so much meaning and love, and all that love is washed away,” Loehr said.
Despite the devastation, Loehr said he feels fortunate compared to others in the community who lost their homes, and are still searching for loved ones and friends.
“Everybody’s still here, but all of these other people that have lost everything and lost their animals, my heart aches for them,” Loehr said.
Loehr took comfort in finding a small, glass memento he left at his brother’s grave.
“My brother loved to fish. And I brought him a little fish, and it’s still here even though everything else that’s real heavy and everything is gone,” Loehr said.
Community members say they plan to begin clearing debris and searching for missing headstones in the coming weeks, hoping to restore the cemetery and preserve the memories of those laid to rest there.