Procession is bringing body of young flood victim Shiloh Wilson back to Kingwood
Shiloh Wilson, 12, with his dad, Jeff Wilson. They and his mother, Amber, died in last weekend’s Hill Country flood.
Humble ISD
A procession Saturday will return the body of 12-year-old Shiloh Wilson, who died in last week’s Hill Country flooding, to his hometown of Kingwood.
Shiloh and his parents were among the more than 100 people who lost their lives in the devastating flooding on July 4. The family was staying at a Kerrville RV park while attending a youth rodeo in the area.
Shiloh’s body was recovered on Thursday. The bodies of his parents, Jeff and Amber Wilson, were also recovered in the days following the flood, according to Amber Willson’s brother John Ledford.
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The procession, led by the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office, began at 9 a.m. in Kerville and is expected to arrive at Kingwood Funeral Home between 4 and 4:30 p.m., Ledford wrote in a Facebook post. Everyone is invited to line the route in remembrance of Shiloh, Ledford said.
“We are profoundly grateful to the many police and fire departments from across the state who will assist in this homecoming and help ensure a safe and honorable journey,” Ledford wrote on Facebook.
Shiloh was a champion saddle bronc rider, his uncle said. Some of his rodeo gear was recovered from the flood debris and will be restored by the man who made his custom saddle and given to his family, Ledford wrote in a post shared to Facebook.
A memorial fundraiser has been started for the family. It had raised $72,585 as of Saturday.
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July 12, 2025
Caroline Wilburn is a breaking news reporter for the Houston Chronicle.
A graduate of Texas A&M University, Caroline worked as an election stringer for the Associated Press and as a breaking news fellow at the Texas Tribune. At the Tribune, she got a crash course in interpreting data, distilling complicated policy and following statewide trends on a tight deadline. She’s also a skilled video editor and podcast producer.
She won a first-place award for audio news production at the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association.
Hundreds gather in Kingwood to welcome rodeo champion Shiloh Wilson home
KINGWOOD, Texas – Hundreds of people gathered in Kingwood to welcome 12-year-old Shiloh Wilson home after his tragic passing in the Hill Country floods.
Wilson, a two-time rodeo champion known as “Stingray,” was in the Texas Hill Country with his parents during the Fourth of July weekend when deadly floodwaters swept through the area.
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The family spent the evening dancing at a restaurant before the floodwaters struck, and all three went missing.
Jeff and Amber Wilson were found earlier this week. Shiloh’s body was recovered Thursday night.
KPRC2’s Joy Addison spent the day at the funeral home, where mourners gathered to pay their respects.
“The support here feels never-ending,” Addison said. “Hundreds of people from Kingwood, Humble ISD — where Jeff worked for more than 30 years — the rodeo community and many others came together to reunite Shiloh ‘Stingray’ Wilson with his parents.”
Shiloh Wilson was a decorated rodeo competitor who had a special gift for riding broncs, friends said.
“The past two shows that I’ve done in New Caney, Shiloh actually came out and he was one of my kid judges,” Nathan Doyle, who runs a car show for kids, recalled. “So he’s picked out a Lambo for one of the awards, old school F-100. They’re amazing people.”
David Bender, a longtime friend of Jeff Wilson, said, “They were in town over there for a rodeo with a two-time champion, Shiloh Stingray, he’s just a little stud. God gave him a gift, and he had the gift and the ability to ride broncs.”
Jeff and Amber Wilson were beloved members of the Humble and Kingwood communities. Jeff taught in Humble ISD for more than three decades, and Amber was described as the glue holding their family together.
“He was like a father, like a brother to me,” Bender, who was once Jeff’s student, said. “Any problem I had I was able to pick the phone up, call him.”
“Shiloh was [Amber’s] life,” he added.
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The three went missing after being swept away by the deadly Kerrville floodwaters. Jeff and Amber’s bodies were recovered days before Shiloh’s.
Along with friends and family, the Harris County fire marshal, local rodeo associations, and law enforcement from multiple cities escorted Shiloh’s body from Kerrville to the Kingwood funeral home.
State leaders, school and rodeo friends, and hundreds from the Kingwood community welcomed Shiloh back home, expressing relief and a sense of peace knowing the Wilson family has been reunited after such a tragic ordeal.
“I can’t express how amazing it is to see the long line of support just right here,” Congressman Dan Crenshaw said.
Misty Worrell of Humble BBQ and Rodeo shared, “When he was loaded into the hearse and we got into the procession and we drove away from the funeral home, all I could keep saying was, ‘Okay, we’re taking him home. He’s with us now. We’ve got him.’”
Bender added, “I’m thankful that God was able to put all three of them back together and be the Wilson Three again.”
Family and friends say they have just one request as Shiloh is laid to rest: that the community remember the Wilsons will need support for years to come.