Woman dies in Mississippi tornadoes just days after moving from SWLA

OAK VALE, Miss. (KPLC) – A former Southwest Louisiana resident was killed in a tornado outbreak in Mississippi this weekend.

Suzette Tolbird, 56, died, along with a family member, Ryan Tolbird, 36, on Storey-Parkman Road in Oak Vale, Mississippi, according to Jefferson Davis County (Mississippi) Coroner Dedra Johnson.

Suzette died while en route to the hospital, Johnson said. Ryan was found later and is believed to have died instantly.

They were two of at least 39 people killed when a massive storm system tore through the central and southern U.S. this weekend.

Tolbird had only recently moved to Mississippi from Southwest Louisiana. She was a nurse practitioner at Moss Memorial Health Clinic until earlier this month.

“Suzette Tolbird was an exceptional nurse practitioner, employed by LCMHS from February 28, 2023, until March 7, 2025. She was beloved by her colleagues and patients at the GI Clinic at Moss Memorial Health Clinic,” Lake Charles Memorial Health System spokesperson Allie Livingston said.

We spoke with Moss Memorial Clinical Director Chad Higginbotham after learning of her death.

Higginbotham said Tolbird served as a flight nurse, NICU nurse and emergency room nurse during her career. She was also a chairperson for Memorial’s advanced practice committee.

“She was definitely a pillar of sorts for Memorial Hospital for our advanced practitioners. She definitely set the pace for an example of what a professional nurse practitioner would be like,” Higginbotham said.

“She laughed a lot. She was a little quirky, but that’s what we loved about her. Every day was a gift that she was here,” he said.

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