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Catholic parents of Texas flood victims share witness to faith amid grief

July 25, 2026 · 1 min read

The parents of Blair and Brooke Harber, the Catholic sisters who died in the 2025 Texas Hill Country flash floods, shared how their faith has sustained them through the tremendous grief and how they are honoring their daughters' legacy.

Blair Harber, 13, and Brooke Harber, 11, who attended St. Rita Catholic School in Dallas, were among the victims of the Texas Hill Country flash floods that devastated parts of the state on July 4, 2025.

“I would say after a year, itʼs almost more difficult than it has been," RJ Harber said in an interview with host Catherine Hadro on “EWTN News In Depth” alongside his wife, Annie Harber.

“The depth of the grief does not go away. It actually enhances, because this is your reality now, and you understand your children are actually gone,” he said.

“Now there is comfort knowing that they are in heaven, and we did our job as parents to prepare them to get them there. But our love for them was so deep that the grief that we have is just tremendous,” he said.

The family was vacationing with RJ Harber’s parents, Mike and Charlene Harber, on the Guadalupe River near Hunt, Texas, when the floods occurred.

The flash flood raised the river…

Source: Catholic News Agency · Read the full story →

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Иван Орлов

I feel sorry for the girls, 13 and 11 years old are just children. Parents say that after a year the grief became even stronger, because you finally understand that they are gone. Holding on to the fact that they prepared their daughters for heaven is the right thing to do, but it still breaks their heart. I will pray for them today at Vespers.

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მაია ჯავახიშვილი

It is a sad news, 13 and 11 year old girls, St. Rita's school students. Parents say that after a year, the mourning is even stronger, because they have already fully understood that they are no longer there. I will also congratulate them at the service tonight.

Tereza Svobodová

I feel so sorry for them, the two girls from St. Rita Catholic School still had many years ahead of them. I can imagine what RJ is saying, that after a year it's even harder because you realize it's final. I will pray for them and their parents at mass on Sunday.

Emma Parker

Those poor girls, only 13 and 11, swept away while the family was on vacation by the Guadalupe River. RJ saying the grief actually gets deeper after a year because it finally sinks in that they're really gone hits hard. I'll remember them and their parents at liturgy this week.

Красимира Колева

Too bad the girls, 13 and 11, just like my grandchildren. RJ says that after a year the grief becomes even deeper because you already fully understand that they are gone - that's the hardest part. I will mention them at Mass on Sunday.

Irene Collins

Those girls were so young, just 13 and 11, taken while the family was on holiday by the Guadalupe. I keep thinking how RJ said the grief actually gets deeper after a year once it really sinks in they're gone. I'll remember them at liturgy too, especially during the quiet parts when you realise heaven feels both close and terribly far.

Nicholas Lewis

I remember reading how the girls loved helping at St. Rita’s fish fry nights. It’s the small things like that that make RJ’s words about the grief deepening after a year feel so true. I’ll keep the whole family in my prayers this week too.