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Son's loving farewell to mother as deadly tornado neared

BEEBE, Ark. — Regina Wood always looked forward to getting text messages from her son Jeffrey.

Now, she has one she cherishes above all the others.

It was during last week’s deadly tornado outbreak in Arkansas. Regina and her son lived in different towns located about 20 miles apart in northwest Arkansas. Regina was at her home in Beebe, Jeffrey in his in Vilonia.

As the storm clouds approached, it became clear that Vilonia would be the target of one of the twisters. Not having a basement, Jeffrey took refuge in his bathroom and began to text his mom for storm updates.

An EF-4 tornado was tearing through the town and heading right for her son’s neighborhood.

Jeffrey texted “Goodbye mama” as it neared.

“It’s headed right for me,” was his next text.

Looking to reassure her son, Regina texted back “I love you Jeff, you will make it.”

Jeffrey didn’t make it – one of several tornado victims in his Arkansas neighborhood.

“I have a text from him as the tornado was hitting,” she tearfully told Fox 24. “It said ‘Goodbye mama’….that was the most precious thing a son could do for his mother. “