Delaina Ashley Yaun: family and friends mourn ‘great mother, wife, daughter’

Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, and her husband of less than a year were looking to spend a night away from their kids when they visited Young’s Asian Massage spa just outside of Atlanta on Tuesday when she was shot and killed by a gunman who would kill eight people that day. Yaun was a mother to a 14-year-old son and eight-month-old daughter.

“She was supposed to be enjoying a fun time with her husband,” Yaun’s sister, Dana Toole, said. Toole, who stood outside of the family home holding photos of Yaun and fielding questions from reporters, said it was the couple’s first time visiting the business.

She described her sister Delaina, an employee of the local Waffle House, as an outgoing, family-oriented person who would go out of her way to help others and often take in friends who were in need of a place to stay.

A friend of Yaun also shared a story of the time she stayed with the family after she lost her job due to the Covid-19 pandemic with the Guardian. In a Facebook message, Rose Luce said Yaun “took me and my boyfriend along with my dog into her already full home because she cared about me”.

Luce said that while living with Yaun, she saw firsthand what a great mother, wife and daughter she was. Close with her family, Yaun “loved wrestling with her son and cheering him on during his cross country matches”.

Following Yaun’s death, Waffle House released a statement about their employee of nearly eight years. “Not only was she a well-liked server, but she also was cross trained to cook as a Grill Operator,” the company said in its statement.

“We are relieved and thankful that law enforcement agencies were able to quickly arrest the alleged shooter. There simply are no words that can adequately convey the deep sense of loss and grief our Acworth Waffle House Team and our entire Waffle House Family is experiencing at this time. We do offer our sincerest and deepest sympathy to her family and friends, as she was beloved by many. We also are offering counseling services to local associates as we all mourn this tragic loss of life.”

Toole said Yaun’s husband, who survived the attack by locking himself in a room during the shooting is “having a hard time” processing the events that have occurred.

“Losing her will permanently affect this family and home. I’ve never seen such love in a family the way I see the love Delaina had for hers,” Luce said. “Every day she would come home from work and hug her mother and kiss her baby girl with a giant smile on her face. She adored that beautiful baby girl with every part of her heart.”