Mesquite Family Still Coping with Loss One Year After Deadly Tornado Killed a Wife and Mother

The Porras family could not have know last Christmas was the last time they would all be together.

"Such a big change in my life," said Ruben Porras, his eyes wet holding back tears. "I want to cry sometimes. It hits me."

The deadly tornado on Dec. 26, 2015 killed Porras' wife, Petra Porras. She was driving home from the hair salon on Interstate 30 at the Bush Turnpike when the EF-4 tornado hit. Porras was talking to his wife on FaceTime when it happened. 

"Yeah, I talked to her about, maybe 30 seconds. It was so quick. Everything went so fast," Porras said. "Who would expect a tornado around that time right after Christmas, right? No one." 

There's now a memorial at I-30 and the Bush Turnpike where nine people died that night, including Petra. Nine wooden Christmas Trees dot the landscape.

One for each victim. 

"That's something that I think about all the time, you know?" Porras said. "It was so random, and I think about why her?"

Porras is raising the couple's five children alone, with the help of his wife's mother. 

"She wasn't just my wife, she was my best friend" Porras said. "I had so much fun with her." 

This Christmas, Porras didn't want to be home for the anniversary of the tornado. He drove his family to Disney World, far away from the memories of that fateful day.

Porras said he misses his wife every day, but there is a lesson in the loss.

"So you have to appreciate those moments that you have with your family," Porras said. "Because you never know when that time is going to come."