She illuminated radiant beams of color staining the souls of her loved ones. Her creativity and initiative were an inspiration that marked the hearts of anyone who witnessed her remarkable persona. Behind those light eyes, there was more than just a shy girl, more than just a girl who loved to paint her visions on a blank canvas, there was just simply so much more to her that words will never be able to justify. She was a gift to our world, a beautiful masterpiece that can never be duplicated.

Senior Virginia Grace Comer died Aug. 29, in a car accident, leaving behind her family, friends, and community to grieve.

“I was really shocked and thought it was a lie,” senior Maryanne Garcia said. “I only knew from one person that she had passed and that she was in a car accident. Then they sent me the link to the website that talked about the crash, and I didn’t see her name, so I didn’t really believe it. But then as I got to school, I found out the truth. I started crying along with my other friends and we had to go to the counselor’s office.”  

Grace resembled many things, but what stuck most with people was her love for all forms of art and her kind genuine character.

“She was always very enthusiastic about art and she was always there for the art club meetings,” senior Jenna Mitchell said. “She had good ideas for things like that, and she was really nice and positive.”  

Developing this burning passion for art at a young age, Grace continued to do what she loved throughout her high school career, impacting the people around her as she went.

“I know that she started art with us at Texas Middle School. She really got into art in sixth grade [when] she took drawing and art design. In seventh grade, she took painting, and in eighth grade, she took Pre-AP art so I was her teacher through those three years,” art teacher Shea Phillips said. “All the teachers between middle school and high school have taught her, and so we were all just really personally affected by her loss because we all had such a great relationship. She wanted to attend UNT in the fall and wanted to major in studio art. She wanted to become a college art professor, and I just knew that she was going to achieve her goal because it was in her DNA.”

Though Grace is not physically able to accomplish her dreams of being an aspiring artist, her loved ones are positive that with her drive and dedication, she would have reached any goal she set.

“She was a big dreamer, and I really admire that about her,” Garcia said. “She actually had plans set for herself and for her future. I always wished to be just like her because I wanted to have everything planned out and know what I wanted to do with my life once I got out of high school. I really liked that about her.”  

Her wonderful creations will continue to inspire her family, friends, and the community, especially since there are plans in the making to honor her memory.

“We have several things in the works, but nothing’s quite been planned out together,” Phillips said. “One thing that we want to do is a mural at Hospice of Texarkana. She had started a mural design, so we’re hoping to incorporate her design into the mural we do there if hospice will approve it. We do have a piece of her art sculpture from last year that we’re going to attempt to make a statue out of with a plaque that has her name on it. We also have an idea pending for an art show in her honor. We want to make it somewhat of a silent auction and raise money to hopefully create a scholarship in her name for a student that wants to pursue art because that was her passion.”