The community is grieving the loss of a 16-year-old girl who died in a traffic accident on Jan. 18.
Madalyn Jane “Maddy” Robinson, a junior at Herculaneum High School, died in the crash. She was the daughter of Eric Robinson of Festus and Samantha Huff Blair of De Soto.
Tarilyn Jarvis, a friend of the family, described Madalyn as “the most beautiful soul.”
“My family and I knew Maddy for about 10 years,” said Tarilyn, who started a Gofundme page for the family called “Maddy’s Memory: A Community’s Compassion.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, the page had raised $23,460.
“(Maddy) had a goofy, free spirit,” Tarilyn said. “She was always saying or doing something that you couldn’t help but laugh. She was the most outspoken person I’ve ever met. She never left anything unsaid. She could light up any room.”
Tarilyn said Maddy’s presence was one that could not be ignored.
“She was a strong competitor … she hated to lose,” Tarilyn said. “I have so many memories of Maddy dancing and goofing around everywhere she went. She wasn’t afraid to be her authentic self.”
Tarilyn believes Maddy left a mark on everyone who knew her.
“My husband, Jason Jarvis, taught Maddy at Herculaneum High School. He said Maddy was always making him laugh,” Tarilyn said. “She was one of his favorite students to have in class. She had spunk and tenacity.”
Tarilyn’s stepdaughter, Jillian, attended school with Maddy, and they played basketball together.
“(Maddy) was a sweet, funny, carefree young teen,” Jillian said. “She loved playing softball, basketball and running track.
“She had a very fun personality and always made you laugh no matter what. Maddy and her sister, Lydia, had a bond like no other.”
Herculaneum High School Principal Stephanie Dix said Maddy was a great kid and student, adding that she was athletic and active in school activities. She recently was a junior attendant in the school’s homecoming court.
“She liked to make people laugh,” Dix said. “She was funny, passionate and had a lot of love to give to her friends and family. She is going to be terribly missed.”
Matt Lichtenstein, spokesman for the Dunklin R-5 School District, said support dogs, school counselors and counselors from partnering agencies were available to help grieving students and staff when they returned to school on Tuesday.
“There’s been a huge community of support even outside this school and this community,” Dix said.
The De Soto Walmart store, where Maddy had worked as a cashier, has set up a memorial to honor her.
Emily Ingram, the store’s front-end manager, said her family sent photos for the memorial on the grocery side of the store, and coworkers placed a house plant, flowers and a stuffed animal there. The memorial will remain up until her funeral on Saturday at Mahn Twin City Chapel, 515 Collins Ave., in Festus.
Ingram said Maddy started working there as a cashier in October.
“She was very cheerful,” Ingram said. “She was never without a smile.”
Maddy was friendly to both customers and other cashiers, Ingram added.
“They are all taking her death very hard,” Ingram said. “She was a very bubbly person, a person everyone liked being around because she was cheerful. She had a good attitude.”
The store has a Facebook post about Maddy that says, “It is with deep sorrow that we say goodbye to one of our own, Madalyn. Madalyn was a beloved cashier whose kindness, warmth, and bubbly personality will be remembered by all who knew her. We ask for prayers for fellow associates who lost a friend, and her family and friends as they go through this difficult loss.”
The accident occurred at 1:10 a.m. Jan. 18, when Maddy was driving an eastbound 2000 Ford Ranger in the 4000 block of Sunrise School Road in the De Soto area, where the SUV ran off the right side of the road, struck an embankment and overturned, ejecting her from the vehicle, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported.
The De Soto Police Department confirmed Maddy was driving.
She was pronounced dead on the scene, the highway patrol reported.
A passenger in the vehicle, a 15-year-old girl from Barnhart, sustained minor injuries in the crash and was taken to Mercy Hospital South in south St. Louis County, the report said.
Neither teen was wearing a seat belt, and the SUV was totaled, the patrol reported.
For obituary information, see the Leader's obituary page.