» Family and friends say goodbye at the funeral for Kimberly Vaughan, who was a freshman at Santa Fe High School.
Shooting victim, 14, was a Girl Scout, knew sign language
Kimberly Vaughan was among the missing Tuesday as her classmates returned to Santa Fe High School.
She should have been sending her mother goofy text messages or practicing sign language, but instead family and friends said goodbye to the freshman high school student during her funeral Tuesday afternoon at Clear Creek Community Church in League City.
As the palm trees swayed and the afternoon sun shone down, guests slowly strolled toward the sprawling tan and brown church. A couple of guys wore Boy Scout uniforms and a girl walked in wearing a beige Girl Scout vest, paying homage to Vaughan, who was a devoted senior Girl Scout in the San Jacinto Council.
Eleven days prior to laying her daughter to rest, Vaughan’s mother, Rhonda Hart, posted an
urgent message on Facebook as she waited to learn whether Vaughan was one of the 10 victims killed at Santa Fe High School.
“My daughter was in first period art class at Santa Fe high school today,” Hart wrote on Facebook on May 18. “There was a shooter. I have not found her.”
Earlier that morning, Hart saw her 14-year-old daughter for the last time while on the school bus she drives for the Santa Fe ISD school district, she recalled last week to Anderson Cooper on CNN.
Hart’s daughter walked by and Vaughan remembers using sign language to speak with her. “I looked over and I said, ‘bye, Kim,’ and I went ‘I love you,’ ” Hart recalled. “This was our thing: ‘I love you’ in ASL.”
Hart explained during her television interview how she and her daughter first began using sign language when Vaughan was young because she was delayed in speech as a toddler and in preschool.
‘Great comedian’
Vaughan’s love of sign language continued and she planned on creating a program for young children and families to communicate better using ASL as part of her Gold Award project for Girl Scouts.
Hart recalled often receiving goofy text messages from her daughter and described her as a “great comedian.”
Vaughan also was a huge fan of Harry Potter, cats and library trips, according to her obituary.
“She was just too awesome for all of us down here, so she had to go upstairs and be awesome up there,” said Hart in her CNN interview. The media was not allowed inside Tuesday’s service.
Last week, as white crosses were placed in front of Santa Fe High School in honor of the victims, Sierra Dean held her face in her hands as she stood in front of her best friend’s memorial.
“This is my best friend who passed away on Friday 5/18/18 i love and miss u kimmy ill see u again,” she wrote on Facebook along with a photo collage of Vaughan.
On her obituary’s website, loved ones of Vaughan also typed their condolences. “She was an amazing girl. Had a contagious smile, she was smart and creative,” wrote Christi Prater. “My heat breaks for you and your family. Fly high sweet girl.”
‘I’ll keep calling’
Since the days of the shooting, Hart has been outspoken on social media about changes that need to be made regarding gun violence and told People magazine that she’s contacted Sen. Ted Cruz.
“I called him today and left him a message and I said, ‘I’m Kim’s mom and I want to know what you are going to do and here’s my phone number,’ and I’ll keep calling. Every week. Every other day. Whatever I have to do,” she said.
During her interview with Anderson Cooper, Hart said her daughter was excited at the start of the school year to dye her hair with red streaks and urged others to add red streaks in their hair if they wanted to honor Vaughan. A few red-streaked funeral attendees could be seen streaming into the church on Tuesday.
“My daughter has a cross. She should NOT have a cross,” wrote Hart recently on Facebook. “She should be right next to me, pretending to fart on me or annoy her brother or picking up a cat to sneak into her room.”