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Tornado victims include longtime Tennessee florist, infant girl, judge

THUMBNAIL In this May 31, 2019, photo provided by Angie Morton, Lisa Taylor poses with a flower arrangement taken at Rachel’s Flowers in Memphis, Tenn. An emergency management official in Shelby County, Tenn., said Taylor was found dead Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, after a tree uprooted in a violent storm fell through the roof of her Memphis home, landing on Taylor as she slept. Co-workers said she recently left her job as a florist of 14 years for a government job at the Memphis airport. (Angie Morton via AP)
THUMBNAIL In this May 31, 2019, photo provided by Angie Morton, Lisa Taylor poses with a flower arrangement taken at Rachel’s Flowers in Memphis, Tenn. An emergency management official in Shelby County, Tenn., said Taylor was found dead Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, after a tree uprooted in a violent storm fell through the roof of her Memphis home, landing on Taylor as she slept. Co-workers said she recently left her job as a florist of 14 years for a government job at the Memphis airport. (Angie Morton via AP) THUMBNAIL In this May 31, 2019, photo provided by Angie Morton, Lisa Taylor poses with a flower arrangement taken at Rachel’s Flowers in Memphis, Tenn. An emergency management official in Shelby County, Tenn., said Taylor was found dead Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, after a tree uprooted in a violent storm fell through the roof of her Memphis home, landing on Taylor as she slept. Co-workers said she recently left her job as a florist of 14 years for a government job at the Memphis airport. (Angie Morton via AP)

By DYLAN LOVAN and RUSS BYNUM / Associated Press 9 min read

A 2-month-old whose family tried to protect her by putting her in a car seat. A 94-year-old Korean War veteran from Arkansas. A longtime florist in Tennessee who recently “started on her new adventure” as an airport security worker. An Amazon warehouse worker in Illinois. A Kentucky judge known for his common sense.

These were among the dozens of people killed during Friday night’s tornadoes that ripped through five states in the Midwest and South. There were dozens of confirmed deaths in Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee, but those numbers were expected to rise. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday at least 74 had died in his state alone.

Here are some of the people who perished during the tornadoes.

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Douglas Koon, his wife, Jackie, and their three children huddled in his mother-in-law’s bathroom in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, as the storms approached. The tornado hit the house directly, flinging the family around and tossing a bathtub in the air that was shielding two of his sons. The couple put their infant daughter, Oaklynn, in a car seat to protect her, and she appeared to be OK on Saturday.