Maranda Gail Mathis, a kind student with a love for mermaids, dies at 11

Next to the memorial for Maranda at the town square are piles of bouquets and two gray teddy bears.

Someone who signed as Khloe wrote to Maranda in the center of the cross: “In our last time together, we were happy.” Someone else had drawn small butterflies.

Leslie Ruiz, a friend of Maranda’s mother, wrote to The Washington Post that the 11-year-old was fun, spunky and very smart.

“She had manners,” Ruiz said in the message. “She was a bright girl.”

Her family describes her as “sweet, smart and a shy tomboy who enjoyed being in nature and the outdoors.”

“Those who knew Maranda, knew her great imagination and often expressed her love for unicorns, especially if they were her favorite color purple,” they wrote in her obituary.

-- from the Texas Tribune

Maranda was described by those who loved her as a kind child with a love for mermaids.

The mother of a close friend described Maranda as “very loving”. She mentioned that her daughter and Maranda shared the same classes. Maranda would even ask to have her hair done like her daughter’s. 

Maranda was known for her huge and loving heart. She was a sweetheart who loved her family and friends.

Read Maranda's full obituary at legacy.com