On the evening of November 22nd, 2023, a heart-wrenching event unfolded that would forever change the lives of Lauren Muckleroy and her family. Her husband Zach, along with their two young children Judson, 12, and Lindsay, 9, were tragically killed in a collision with a drunk driver. Lauren, who was driving their Chevy Suburban and endured broken bones in both arms, spine fractures, and an intestinal tear, was the sole survivor. This unimaginable loss has marked the past year for Lauren, as she navigates through the firsts and milestones without her loved ones.

Surviving the Firsts

After the sudden and devastating crash, every holiday and milestone became a painful reminder of what was missing. Halloween, birthdays, and the first day of school all served as poignant reminders of the void left by her husband and children. "I have felt the unfairness of this, not just to me, but for the three of them," Lauren said. "On those hard firsts, we're really loving and remembering them and just feeling it."The details of that fateful day before Thanksgiving are still disjointed in Lauren's memory. A last-minute trip to the grocery store, a recipe she was testing, her husband's tiredness from work, and the stress of getting the kids on the road - these are the memories that now haunt her. And then, the words she'll never forget: "I remember a police officer telling me that all three of them were gone."

The Impact on the Family

The Muckleroy family was a close-knit unit, and their loss has had a profound impact on everyone. Zach, the head of a commercial construction company and a former football player at Texas Christian University, was known for his gregarious personality. "When you'd go to dinner with him, you couldn't get out of the restaurant without him talking to every table," said a family friend. His children, Lindsay and Judson, were equally loved and cherished. Lindsay was a "spunky, a spitfire," always a fierce defender of her friends and with a soft spot for pugs. Judson, known as Jelly Man or Juddy, loved pickleball and hanging out with friends. Their memories live on in the hearts of those who knew them.

Finding Hope in the Darkness

In the year since the crash, Lauren has found a way to channel her grief into something positive. Instead of withdrawing into herself, she has reached out to her community and advocated for children through her work with the Fort Worth nonprofit The WARM Place. "Our situation has brought out the good in so many people," she said. "That has given me so much hope."This past October, eleven months after the crash, Lauren chaired the nonprofit's annual gala, which raised an impressive $700,000 and surpassed fundraising goals. "I wanted my energy to go to something that isn't a reminder of this tragedy," she said. "Being able to pour myself into something uplifting is amazing."The sisters, Lauren and Melanie Dow, are also in the planning stages of a new grief center to provide peer support for kids in Central Texas, tentatively called Hope Road. They intend to collaborate with The WARM Place to lobby for grief education in Texas public schools.

Honoring the Memory

Lauren has seen the friends of her children struggle with their loss and has encouraged them to talk about it. She learned this lesson herself at a young age when she and her sister leaned on each other after losing their mother to lupus. "It's so important for children not to feel alone in their grief," she said.There are still difficult days, though. Sometimes a simple trip to the store can bring back memories of the things her children loved. But Lauren finds hope in the outpouring of love she has felt from so many and in the ways that her family is being remembered. "We sometimes think that to find hope or joy, that we have to eliminate sorrow, but it's possible that you can experience both at the same time," she said. "The worst thing is never the last thing. I truly believe that."