Family members honor loved ones lost in Bollinger Co. tornado

BOLLINGER COUNTY, Mo. (KFVS) - Two Bollinger County families are still reeling from the loss of five loved ones during Wednesday morning’s devastating tornado.

The most heartbreaking detail to come out of Bollinger Co. is the fact that all five people killed had been together, in the same Glenallen home.

Tara Shipley’s family home is gone, only the porch is still standing. Wednesday morning’s tornado left Shipley mourning the loss of four family members. She spoke about each one of them, beginning with her sister’s only daughter.

“Loved any animal she could see, would pick up a strange dog and bring it home in an instant,” Shipley said.

16-year-old Destinee Koenig livened up the family with her fun-loving personality and goofy Snapchat images. Shipley said her niece had a special relationship with mom, Amanda.

“They had a bond, they was best friends, they wasn’t mom and daughter they was best friends,” Shipley said. “They was inseparable.”

That same kind of bond existed between Destinee and her grandma, 57-year-old Susan Sullivan. Shipley knew her as Aunt Susan and calls her a go-to person for advice, or really anything she needed.

“She was always there for me when I needed her the most,” Shipley said. “She was an amazing person and anything I needed she would try to get, anything my sister needed she would try to get, she was an amazing mom to my sister.”

Susan’s husband, 62-year-old Glenn Burcks, considered all the kids in the family his whole world. Known in the family as Paw-Paw, Burcks also had a soft spot in his heart for Destinee.

“He loved my niece, that was his baby,” Shipley said. “If you needed him, he was there. He was just a sweet person, he was an amazing person.”

Shipley also lost her cousin, 37-year-old Jimmy Skaggs. She remembers his love for the Golden Girls and his many hobbies.

“He loved wrestling, he loved collecting Pokémon cards, anything you could think of like that he was collecting,” Shipley said.

The fifth person lost on this property 18-year-old Micheal McCoy.

Stormiee Mayberry described her son as the best big brother in the world. He was a young man with a quick wit who never skipped a daily phone call with his mom.

Micheal’s aunt, Tracy Glueck, said family meant the world to him.

“He loved his mama big time, he was very close to his mom,” Glueck said.

Both families said they appreciate all the love and support they’ve received. Tara Shipley said it’s going to take a long, long time to grieve.

“Because not only do we have to process that, we have to process the loss of this too,” Shipley said. “I lost everything, I lost my whole world.”

One request Micheal McCoy’s mom has is to keep an eye out for her son’s boots. She said he wore them to walk her down the aisle and they were lost during the tornado. They are orange and brown and say ‘Just a good ‘ole boy’ on them. If you find them, please call 573-707-2505.

Both Shipley’s family and McCoy’s family have created GoFundme’s to help with funeral expenses.

Copyright 2023 KFVS. All rights reserved.