Scholarship fund will help children of those killed on Oct. 1

After losing their daughter in the Oct. Strip shooting, Debbie and Chris Davis found themselves thrust into a virtual role they hadn’t played in many years — parents.

Their daughter, Neysa Tonks, a single mother from Las Vegas, left behind three children: a 24-year-old son, Kaden Manczuk; and two school-aged siblings, Braxton Tonks, 17, and Greysen Tonks, 15.

Still grieving their daughter’s death, the couple, in their mid60s, knew what they had to do. They moved into Tonks’ house to provide her children with the stability and support they needed. “It really takes a village to raise a child,” Debbie Davis said.

One of the first hurdles they faced was helping Braxton Tonks, then a senior at Palo Verde High School, apply for college.

He was accepted at three schools, but the Davises were left wondering how many children of the 57 other people killed would someday be in the same position.

They soon discovered there were dozens and decided to do something to help.

Last month, they and their daughter Mynda Smith launched a scholarship fund through the Nevada Community Foundation.

The Children of the 58 — Lost and Never Forgotten Fund will help pay for post-high school education for 55 children who lost a parent when a gunman opened fire from a Strip hotel tower into a crowd of people at a country