FORT WORTH, Texas — It's been 36 hours since one of the worst tragedies Fort Worth has ever seen on its roads -- 36 hours since six people were taken from their families forever.
Friday, we learned more about three of those victims; they were all beloved parents, devoted to their children, families and friends.
"Just that kind of dad," Sara Suttle said of 45-year-old Aaron Watson. "That kind of husband, that kind of dad just—the kind everybody wishes they had."
Suttle is a long-time family friend with Watson and his wife, Jane, and said she stood up in the Watsons' wedding.
She said the long-time managing partner of two local Jason's Deli locations was on his way to work Thursday morning when he was caught up in the 133-car pileup on the express lane of I-35 South.
"If anybody wanted to know anything about Aaron, it's that he is defined by his family, and his family was defined by him, and they're missing him a lot," said Suttle.
Jason's Deli released a statement about Watson's passing, which said in part: "Aaron was a true servant leader who touched the lives of so many employees and customers and leaves a legacy of love and caring for others."
Another loving husband and dad was also lost in the crash; Chris Vardy, who was married to Boyd ISD Superintendent Tamara Vardy, was like family to so many, said his pastor Tim Bruster.
"There are people in this world who wake up every morning thinking about how they can serve for the greater good, and Chris was one of those people," said Bruster, a pastor at First United Methodist Church in downtown Fort Worth.
Vardy was long involved in youth ministry, and was a beloved employee at InterConnect Wiring in Fort Worth, an aerospace company. "We miss you greatly," the company said on Facebook.
Boyd ISD released a statement Friday on Vardy's death, saying in part: "You would find him at cross country meets riding the mule, attending one act play performances, and cheering from the sidelines and stands for football, basketball, and baseball."
"He was really a good, good man and will be greatly missed," said Bruster.
So too will Tiffany Gerred. Her family said she was on I-35 southbound Thursday because she was headed into work early. The woman of faith leaves behind an 11-year-old daughter.
"Tiffany was an amazingly beautiful person. Fiercely loyal to everyone blessed enough to be in her family, or to call her friend," her family said in a statement.
Judge Patricia Baca Bennett, whose office Gerred worked in, said "Tiffany’s passing leaves a hole in the heart to those that knew her."
William Darrell Williams, 54, Michael Henry Wells, 47, and a sixth, yet unidentified, person were also killed Thursday.
There was so much loss, and so much lost, on that cold Fort Worth morning.