"Her sweet, beautiful presence touched our city," mayor says of junior who died in wreck

A day after news broke that 16-year-old Liv Teverino, a junior at Marietta High School, died in a car crash Monday evening, friends and family were focused on the joy she brought to the world.

“She radiated joy and always had a smile on her face,” former Marietta school board member Allison Gruehn, a family friend of the Teverinos, told the MDJ. “She was gentle and kind to her peers and a fantastic role model for younger children. Her sweet countenance was always on display!”

Teverino was killed in a single-vehicle crash less than a mile from the school around 5:30 p.m. Monday, Marietta police said.

By Tuesday afternoon, white balloons had been tied around mailboxes on the Teverino family��ӽ紫ý street in honor of Liv, and multiple memorial services were scheduled this week to honor her, in addition to a makeshift memorial in her parking space at the school featuring flowers and chalk messages from friends and classmates.

Rooted in her faith

Many who knew and loved Liv came back to her deeply held faith in God in explaining the exceptional person she was.

Catherine Sanders, a close friend of the Teverinos who knew Liv since she was born, wrote to the MDJ that Teverino “reflected the brilliant radiance of Christ.”

Sanders said Liv worked at her manners and etiquette business, The Social Class, and brought her best qualities to the job, in addition to all other areas of her life.

“Each facet of her sparkling life shone brightly into everything she held dear,” Sanders wrote. “Family, friendships, youth ministry, academics, cross country, FCA leadership, working at The Social Class...each was met with love, joy, excellence and ensuring everyone involved felt known and loved.

Sanders said Beth Teverino, Liv��ӽ紫ý mother, shared with her the following statement: “Liv��ӽ紫ý life was given and taken so that more of us will believe, be saved and turn to Jesus Christ.”

It was Liv��ӽ紫ý family, including mother Beth, father Scot, and brothers Luke and Brendan, who allowed her to be the best version of herself and “tended her life well and for His glory.”

Words cannot fully express the love our community has for the Teverino family and the loss we feel,” Sanders wrote. “Our community is moving forward in faith that God will use Liv��ӽ紫ý beautiful life for His glory and we look forward to being reunited with her in heaven.”

Kristi Storey, another close family friend of Liv and her family, was the small group leader for 11th grade girls at First United Methodist Church, where Liv participated in youth group since the sixth grade.

While Teverino was a member of St. Joseph��ӽ紫ý Catholic Church, she partook in the youth group activities at Marietta First United Methodist, something Storey said made sense for someone as rooted in her faith as Liv was.

“As I loved, Liv always said, ‘You can never have too much Jesus,’” Storey said.

Storey added that a girl Liv would babysit once asked Liv how she managed to juggle different youth groups and make so much time for worship and Bible study. Liv��ӽ紫ý response was just that: “You can never have too much Jesus.”

To Storey, Liv was ahead of her years in her faith.

“She could explain something in a way that just made it seem easy to understand, like take a really complicated concept of the afterlife or prevenient grace ... and just made it so simple,” Storey said.

It was not just younger children Teverino inspired.

“Liv just had this very mature faith that her peers looked up to and, I mean, adults looked up to her,” Storey said.

Liv not only served as an example to others in her faith, but in the way she carried herself and approached relationships.

“I never knew Liv to be mean to anybody in any situation,” Storey said. “She was always nice to everyone, and it wasn’t put on, it was just genuine and she just had a beautiful smile and a gentle spirit toward everyone. She was easy to love.”

‘There to support everyone’

Liv��ӽ紫ý friend Camilla Weigle, a senior at MHS, first met Teverino when she started at the high school. They ran track together, and Weigle recalled Liv��ӽ紫ý indelible impact on the team that stemmed from her faith.

“She brought so much joy and so much fun to the team, and she was so servant-hearted, and all of those things truly were from her relationship with Jesus,” Weigle said.

Liv was a member of the Marietta High School girls cross country team that won the Class AAAAAAA state championship and a leader in Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She was also one of 54 Cobb high schoolers selected to the Cobb Chamber of Commerce��ӽ紫ý Cobb Youth Leadership program, which kicked off its programming last month.

“We grieve with Liv��ӽ紫ý family and our community. She was a remarkable young lady and beloved by all,” said Sharon Mason, CEO of the Cobb Chamber. “She was selected for the Cobb Chamber��ӽ紫ý 2023-2024 Cobb Youth Leadership class and was such a dedicated servant leader in our community. During her time in Cobb Youth Leadership, she connected with many of her classmates and was known for her kind and generous personality. Our entire staff, the Cobb Youth Leadership class and volunteers are devastated by this loss.”

Liv��ӽ紫ý cross country coach, Jack Coleman, said she carried over the qualities from the track team Weigle recognized in her to cross country.

“Liv was just a positive light on the team, just always so, so positive about everything on our team,” Coleman said. “A great teammate, very coachable, you couldn’t ask for really a better athlete as far as being coachable and seeking to improve herself, but not only that, she was a leader to the whole team.”

What made Liv stand out most on the team was her endless support of her teammates, Coleman said.

“Running is such an individual sport that many times runners, to be successful, they won’t be really that great a teammate.” Coleman said. “A lot of really good runners aren’t really great teammates because they focus on themselves so much, but that wasn’t Liv, she was very focused on always making sure the team was always in a good place and really helped those around her.”

A recent ankle injury kept Liv out of the Cobb County Cross Country Championships the weekend before her death.

“Yet she was there supporting the team through everything, helping the coaches get everything done,” Coleman said. “That��ӽ紫ý Liv, that��ӽ紫ý the way she always operated. She just was there to support everyone and cheer for everyone and trying to help everybody improve.”

Since learning of her death, Coleman has focused on everything about Liv outside of running: her achievements in school, the example she set for others and the positive presence she constantly brought to all she did.

“There��ӽ紫ý athletes, and then there��ӽ紫ý great people, and she��ӽ紫ý a great person,” Coleman said. “I hadn’t really thought about the running so much, I’ve just thought about the person, because to me, she��ӽ紫ý just a wonderful young lady.”

Coleman echoed Weigle in noting Liv��ӽ紫ý commitment to her faith shining through in her time on the cross country team.

“I’m comforted in the fact she��ӽ紫ý with our Lord and Savior, I know that, because you could see it every day in her,” Coleman said. “You could see her faith all the time, and so the one comfort to all of this is that yeah, I have no doubt about her and about where she��ӽ紫ý at now.”

The soul of Marietta

Marietta Mayor Steve “Thunder” Tumlin��ӽ紫ý granddaughter, Ali Patrick, was a close friend of Liv��ӽ紫ý. He recalled Liv and Ali performing a duet of the song “Sisters” from “White Christmas” at the Strand Christmas Tradition when the girls were fifth graders.

He called that performance his “gift of a lifetime from Liv,” writing it was a “vivid memory of loving, giving, talented young ladies performing PERFECTLY before a packed house.”

Tumlin said Liv and Ali were part of a tight-knit friend group that supported one another. He recalled watching Liv grow up through the years, from her days as a West Side Elementary School student to her experiences in different activities, like ballet and Girl Scouts, as Ali��ӽ紫ý close friend.

“That��ӽ紫ý what a grandfather wants, and as mayor — to have such a strong group of people that make this a better place to live,” Tumlin said. “Liv did, I know her parents, her two brothers, they ... make Marietta a better place to live.”

Though the community has lost Liv, Tumlin said she made her impact on Marietta and his granddaughter, who will forever have Liv��ӽ紫ý friendship with her.

“We know she had a bright future,” Tumlin said. “She had a bright presence, her sweet, beautiful presence touched our city and everybody she met.”

Tumlin recalled one of his predecessors as mayor who would say Marietta City Schools is the soul of our community, a sentiment Tumlin shares.

However, in discussing Liv, he took it a step further.

“It��ӽ紫ý students like Liv in our school system that make our soul bigger and brighter,” Tumlin said.

Seeing his daughter and granddaughter honor Liv��ӽ紫ý memory, it serves as a reminder that the grief is tremendous, but Liv will not be forgotten.

“Not only will she be missed, but she’ll be remembered,” Tumlin said.

Liv is survived by parents Beth and Scot and brothers Luke and Brendan.

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