Arkansas mother turns to music to strike a new chord after grief of losing son in Vilonia tornado

EL PASO, Ark. – They are words that Regina Wood will never forget, the last messages sent to her by her son Jeff Hunter as a tornado bore down on him.

“Goodbye Mama,” he wrote. “It’s heading right for me.”

The ten years that have passed since have been tough for Regina and the other survivors of those tornadoes that stormed through central Arkansas on April 27, 2014.

“I got a text saying “Mama, I’m so scared,’” she recalled. “I would have given anything, anything, my life, to save his.”

In all, 16 people died, including Jeff, in the tornado that touched down in El Paso, Vilonia and other nearby communities. Regina said the texts from her son revealed the inevitable fate he faced.

“He knew, he knew,” she explained. “It just makes your heart, your heart… You lose it, you totally lose it.”

Her grief was immeasurable, but the loss struck a chord after Regina got a precious gift from her mother before she too died.

“My mom got me my first keyboard,” she said. “She sat in that chair and listened to me try to learn, note by note. And I will always love her for that.”

Learning to play was therapeutic, but tickling the ivories grew to so much more.

“I’ve written a lot of songs about Jeffrey,” Regina said. “It’s my way of showing my love for him.”

Those songs are on streaming platforms like Spotify and SoundCloud, and she has collaborated with music artists all over the world, stroking the keys of an unexpected musical journey.

“Without the music, I don’t think that I would have been able to look at where he is in such a place and be able to say, ‘I’ll see you soon,’” Regina said. “I would probably feel that deep, deep hole.”

Now through melody, this grieving mom has found the right notes to express feelings when words could not.

“I just want him to be proud of me now.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLRT - FOX16.com.