South Walton's Meghan Burkhart-Smith fondly remembered by coaches

By TRAVIS DOWNEY

Northwest Florida Daily News
(850) 315-4476 | travisd@nwfdailynews.com

South Walton softball coach Phil Tisa's house sits less than a mile from that of Meghan Burkhart-Smith, a short enough distance that Tisa would often pick up the South Walton junior on his way to the school on a summer day, where coach and player would work on fundamentals.

But on Monday, Tisa made the drive alone.

Burkhart-Smith, 16, died early Sunday morning due to injuries she suffered in a car accident while riding with friends.

One day after receiving the shattering news, Tisa still struggled to find the words to express the sense of loss felt by those that knew her best.

"Right now, it's surreal," Tisa said. "You sit there and you hear about it and you think about it all night long. Going to school was a whole different feeling.

"You go through sadness, you go through anger, you go through denial. It's like you're waiting for her to pop through the door and say, ‘Hey guys, just joking.' "

Instead, the entire South Walton campus was left reeling at the news of Burkhart-Smith's death. Besides being a member of the softball team, Burkhart-Smith was a two-year volunteer football manager.

"She was like a daughter to me," South Walton football coach David Barron said. "She was the most loyal, dependable, dedicated person I've ever been around.

"An all-American girl. Not just a good girl, an all-American girl."

At the family's request, six members of the South Walton football team will serve as pallbearers during Friday's funeral services, a nod to the friendships Burkart-Smith had established with the Seahawks players and coaches.

Barron first received word of Burkhart-Smith's passing around 7 Sunday morning.

"I didn't believe it," Barron said. "I cried like a baby."

More tears were shed once the news found its way to friends and classmates on Monday.

"They are just devastated," Barron said. "It's not a tragic loss, it's a devastating loss."

Tisa said Burkhart-Smith's greatest impact on both himself and others she had come in contact with was her giving nature.

"She was a unique teenager," Tisa said. "For being 16 years old, she actually had her own ideas. (She was always willing) to do whatever it took for anybody. She was always other people first.

"It was always that way with her."