The husband of Colorado Springs shooting victim Ashley Paugh said she was his high school sweetheart and described her as a loving wife and an amazing mother.
Ashley Paugh was one of five people killed in Saturday’s shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub.
“We’re absolutely devastated by the loss of Ashley. She meant everything to this family, and we can’t even begin to understand what it will mean to not have her in our lives,” Kurt Paugh said in a statement.
She worked with Kids Crossing, a nonprofit that helps find loving homes for foster children, her husband wrote.
"She would do anything for the kids – traveling all over southeastern Colorado, from Pueblo and Colorado Springs to Fremont County and the Colorado border, working to raise awareness and encourage individuals and families to become foster parents to children in our community," he said.
Paugh said his wife also worked with the LGBTQ community to find foster placements for children.
“During the holidays, Ashley organized giving trees and delivered them to businesses so that foster kids could have brighter holidays – and in fact, she was setting up giving trees even last week, canvassing Pueblo and Colorado Springs,” he wrote.
He said she loved being outdoors and enjoyed hunting, fishing and riding four-wheelers.
“Ashley was a loving wife – she was my high school sweetheart – and she was just an amazing mother. Her daughter was her whole world, and she was so proud of Ryleigh, who is a championship swimmer. She loved her dad, her sister, and her family; Ashley was a loving aunt, with many nieces and nephews who are devastated by her loss,” he wrote.