LAWTEY, Fla. – The mother of an 8-year-old boy who was killed the day after Christmas in a plane crash with his father said her son was an angel on earth, and she can't imagine life without him.
Hunter Starling was Tabitha Starling's only child.
“My child was definitely, definitely my greatest gift from God. If he was nobody else's, he was definitely mine,” she said.
The town of Lawtey remains united in grief over the loss of Hunter; his father, David Starling; and David Starling's girlfriend, Kim Smith. The three died Monday when the plane David Starling was piloting crashed in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.
David Starling was a licensed, novice pilot, and Monday was the first time he'd ever flown to the mountains where the weather was foggy and rainy, Tabitha Starling said.
VIDEO: Remembering Hunter Starling
The wreckage of the plane was found Tuesday, and the National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the cause of the crash.
As authorities seek answers about why the plane went down, Starling said she is focused on the legacy her child leaves behind. Although his life was cut short, it was a life well-lived because he was a boy well-loved.
“There was just so much good about him that I sit here and wonder why he took him, because he had so much to give, but obviously, you don't question,” Starling said. “He was a gentle giant. I mean, that's all I can tell you. He was truly a gentle giant. His heart was bigger than he ever will be.”
Starling said she always knew there was something special about the baby she prayed 11 long years to have.
She said she remembers that when Hunter was 5 years old, an elderly woman approached them at a grocery store with an odd request.
“She walked up to me and asked me did I mind if she hugged my son,” Starling said. “Of course, you look at people who are strangers like they're crazy. She said, 'There is a glow around him only God can give,' and that's all she could see from across the store. So I let her hug him.”
Starling now clings to those signs from above, her memories and Hunter's well-loved blanket, called “mink-mink,” and two stuffed puppy dogs. She said he clutched all three as a baby, and she's decided all three will be buried with him.
“I'm not selfish. I don't want him back forever,” Starling said. “Maybe about five minutes, just to hug him and tell him how much I love him.”
To know Hunter was to love him, Starling said. The third-grade honor student and baseball all-star loved hunting with his mom and fishing with his dad.
“He probably has more friends than I do, literally. More people that know him, more friends, just because of how amazing he was,” Starling said. “And if I could say anything, I just don't want anybody to forget him, that is for sure -- forget how he was the type of person he was, the type of man he would have been. He doesn't get to (be that man). That's what hurts the most.”
Starling's last full day with Hunter was Christmas Eve. She gave him a puppy, which he named Maverick, and organized a scavenger hunt as a way to give him a dirt bike.
“He was so excited, and I don't know if all kids would do this, but mine, he was grateful for whatever he got, so he saw his dirt bike, put his helmet down, and he came running to give me a hug,” Starling said. “Thank God I have a video of that.”
Starling is giving some of Hunter's toys to his best friends. One of the little boys said Hunter would be sad if no one was playing with them.
Hunter's funeral will be closed to the public and will take place at the church where he attended school. Friends of Starling have created a GoFundMe account to help her with funeral and other expenses.
Starling asked that everyone attending the funeral wear Hunter's favorite color: blue.
Hunter will be buried in an all-star baseball uniform that was made especially for him.
From the age of 4, Hunter always wore No. 15, just like his hero, Tim Tebow.
“Baseball was his dream. His dream was to become an all-star, and I have to thank (his coaches) C.J. and James for choosing him, because he actually got to do that, and he thought that was just the best thing since anything,” Starling said. “He felt special, which he was. But he, in his heart, felt special because everyone was up there watching him when he hit that ball.”
Starling said she knows Hunter's favorite game will continue for him in heaven.
“My only hope is that up there, the fences aren't as far away as here,” she said, fighting tears. “Because he sure wanted to crush one to the fence.”