'They were happy girls': Grandkids of Florida children's advocate lost lives in Texas flood

• David Lawrence's twin granddaughters, Hanna and Rebecca, perished in the Texas Guadalupe River flooding.
• The 8-year-old twins were attending Camp Mystic with their older sister, who survived.
• The family remembers Hanna as energetic and imaginative, aspiring to be a chef, while Rebecca was sweet and kind, with dreams of becoming a teacher.
• The girls were rising third graders at University Park Elementary School.

David Lawrence Jr. is well known in Florida for his work as a tireless advocate for children.

Now, the former Miami Herald publisher and newspaper editor and his family are "living the nightmare of nightmares" according to his friend and former Miami Herald colleague, Marty Merzer, of Tallahassee.

In the wake of the devastating July 4 flooding of the Texas Guadalupe River, the death toll of 120 as of July 10, includes 8-year-old twins, Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, two grandchildren of Lawrence and his wife, Bobbie.

The twins were at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp in Hunt, Texas, with their older sister Harper, 14, who survived.

"I want people to know how special those children were," Lawrence said in a message sent to Merzer and posted to social media.

David Lawrence has been a Tallahassee pillar over the years. He supported the development of the Leon Children's Services Council, was a founder and chair of The Children's Movement of Florida, and was a Florida A&M University trustee.

John and Lacy Lawrence, the twins' parents, as well as Lawrence and his wife, have decided not to speak with the media while navigating the difficult loss, but they shared a message from the family for Merzer to share on their behalf.

"Hanna and Rebecca brought so much joy to us, to their big sister Harper, and to so many others. We will find ways to keep that joy, and to continue to spread it for them. But we are devastated that the bond we shared with them, and that they shared with each other, is now frozen in time," the family said.

The twins were rising third graders at University Park Elementary School in Texas who loved to read and had vivid imaginations playing together and swapping lead roles for each story they created. Their bond went beyond sisterhood or even their twin connection; the girls were friends but also had unique identities, the family said.

"Hanna had endless energy and imagination and could always be found building, drawing, and creating. She would make new friends wherever she went, as soon as she got there. She loved to push buttons and boundaries but had a talent for doing it in a way where you could not help but smile. She wanted to be a chef when she grew up so she could open a restaurant that would feed people in need for free," the statement reads.

"Rebecca loved to snuggle and was always up for a family movie night. She loved her sisters and friends but was also independent and happy doing her own thing. Her laugh was infectious, and no one could make her laugh as much or as hard as Hanna did. She loved all animals, whether real or plush. She had her own clear sense of fashion and always knew the exact look she wanted. She was sweet and kind but had a killer eyeroll. She wanted to be a teacher when she grew up."

Overall, "they were happy girls," the family wrote.

"May the memory of Hanna and Rebecca be a blessing, and we know – as well as we know anything in this world – that their memory will be," Merzer said in the social media post.

Alaijah Brown covers children & families for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at[email protected]. Follow her on Twitter/X:@AlaijahBrown3.