Loryn Brown never got a chance to take a class at Alabama.
Brown, 21, was found dead in her Tuscaloosa home with roommate Danielle Downs after their apartment was leveled by the April 27 tornado.
The Shelton State student’s mother, Ashley Mims, said she was on the phone with her daughter when the tornado hit and could hear the fear in her voice.
“She said, ‘Mama, I am really scared; I have never seen anything like this before,’” her mother said. “We were on the phone until it cut off at 5:13, and I knew she was gone. I felt like a part of me was gone.”
Brown was aspiring to be a sports journalist and was finishing up her sophomore classes at Shelton State University. She had been accepted to the University of Alabama and was slated to start in August, according to her stepfather, DeWayne Mims.
“She had just started a sports blog called The Low Down,” DeWayne Mims said. “She was a very hardworking person and always set an example for her brothers and her sisters. They all looked up to her.”
Leah Price, a close friend of Brown, said Brown was one of the friendliest people she had ever known.
“She was always willing to give the shirt off her back for someone in need,” Price said. “We would do things that any other college girlfriends would do. I am truly blessed to have called her my friend.”
Nicki Rumanek, a coworker and friend of Brown’s, said Brown always loved her family and was positive and energetic with all of her friendships.
“I’ll never forget her. She was one-of-a-kind and was such a positive and kind person,” Rumanek said. “We all were lucky to have her in our lives, and although she is no longer physically with us, we will never let her memory fade. She will always be with us.”
According to her stepfather, Brown had five siblings: brothers Parker and Collin and sisters Holly, Anna Lynn and Anna Kathryn.
The Loryn Alexandria Brown scholarship fund has been established by her family in her honor.
“Loryn was a very sweet girl,” DeWayne Mims said. “She was the type of person who respected everyone, no matter who they were or why they were the way they were – it didn’t matter to her. She was a really good person to be around.”
DeWayne Mims said he and his wife have learned a lot about their daughter through her friends and how much they all cared about her.
“She was the glue that held a lot of her friendships together,” DeWayne Mims said. “She always found the positive side of people.”
In memory of Brown and all those lost in the April 27 tornadoes, Sean Rivers, a friend of Brown’s, wrote the song “My Mind on Tuscaloosa.” To hear the song, visit YouTube.
