Michigan school shooting victims remembered: Honor student, athletes and an artist

One played high school football well enough to catch the eyes of college recruiters.

Another excelled in bowling and golf.

One girl played volleyball and basketball. Another loved art.

The four teens chased different passions, but all of their lives were cut short in a school shooting Tuesday afternoon at Oxford High School.

Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; and Hana St. Juliana, 14, died within hours of the shooting. Justin Shilling, 17, survived an additional day, before dying in a local hospital.

Their names join a litany of others who have died in schools across the nation as part of an ongoing scourge of gun violence.

In addition to the four young people who lost their lives, seven others – students Phoebe Arthur, John Asciutto, Riley Franz, Elijah Mueller, Kylie Ossege and Aiden Watson, as well as teacher Molly Darnell – were also wounded by gunfire, according to authorities.

'Intent to kill': A visual timeline of deadly shooting at Oxford High School

More: Chilling video shows pandemonium inside Oxford High School classroom during shooting

Tate Myre: Honor student, Football player

Myre played running back, tight end and linebacker on Oxford's football team. He also wrestled. His player profile listed him at 6 feet and 195 pounds. He was an honor student with a 3.9 grade point average.

He was the youngest of three brothers. Tate's father, Buck, headed the football team parents' group, arranging dinners and assisting with fundraising.

“It’s the all-American family,” said JR Laefner, a family friend who serves as public address announcer at school football games. “If you're in trouble or if you need anything, they're there to help. They're there for the kids. They love school. They're just that high school family that's involved.”

Three days before the shooting, Myre attended a football game at the University of Toledo. In a tweet the following day, he thanked the coaches for the invitation and included a photo of himself near the end zone. He wore his Oxford varsity jacket with a field pass draped around his neck.

Fact? Checked. Make sure you have the real story with the Checking the Facts newsletter.

In late October, Myre appeared in an online video, touting the team's toughness in coming back from an 0-3 start to make the playoffs, where Oxford defeated rival Clarkston.

By late Wednesday, more than 70,000 people had signed an online petition to rename the school's football stadium in his honor.

Madisyn Baldwin: Aspiring artist, 'beautiful, smart, sweet'

Baldwin was described by Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald as "a talented artist and a big sister." Friends posted online tributes touting her abilities.

"This beautiful, smart, sweet loving girl was tragically taken from us all today leaving a huge hole in all of our hearts and" lives, her grandmother, Jennifer Graves Mosqueda, wrote in a public post on the fundraising site GoFundMe.com.

The Free Press confirmed the account.

Pastor Liz Wilson, from the Immanuel Congregational United Church of Christ in Oxford, said she spoke to Baldwin’s grandmother, a member of the congregation, on Tuesday night and has offered to provide support to the community in the wake of the shooting.

“I may have to do a funeral and that’s the worst nightmare in the world,” she said.

Hana St. Juliana: 'One of the happiest and most joyful kids'

In announcing charges against the accused shooter, McDonald said Wednesday that she had spoken with the fathers of two of the teens who had died. And one of them, McDonald said, wanted people to know that his 14-year-old daughter, Hana St. Juliana, “was one of the happiest and most joyful kids.”

Reached at his Brandon Township home, Steven St. Juliana said he was not up to speaking with the Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, and referred a reporter to a friend in the neighborhood, Jennifer Curtis.

Curtis said Hana was “kind, gentle and generous, really one of the best kids we’ve ever known. She was a special kid, always willing to help.”

She said she and her husband are both educators, and that Hana was a good student and “a joy to have in the classroom.”

“She was a good kid who wanted to the right thing and be a good person,” Curtis said.

“She always had kind words to say about people” and did not engage in negative talk, Curtis said.

Hana was on the basketball and volleyball teams at Oxford High, and she loved learning how to cook, Curtis said.

Curtis said the two families became close as their children attended school together for years. She said the families enjoyed sports together, vacationed together, and trick-or-treated together. Their lives, she said, were intertwined.

Justin Shilling: 'Simply a pleasure to be around'

Justin Shilling played on Oxford's golf team and also was a member of the bowling team, where he carried a 161 average, according to Mhsbowling.com.

Last season, Justin won 32 games, lost five and tied one, according to the records.

Justin worked at the Lake Orion location of Anita's Kitchen, a Middle Eastern restaurant.

"We’ve just learned of the passing of one of our bright, young Lake Orion employees, Justin Shilling, in relation to the tragic events that took place at Oxford High School yesterday," the company posted on its Facebook page. "Justin was an exemplary employee, a devoted friend and co-worker, co-captain of his bowling team, and simply a pleasure to be around. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time."

Follow John Wisely on Twitter: @jwisely

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Oxford High School shooting victims remembered by family, friends