Shayna (Luza) Vincent

Shayna (Luza) Vincent passed away Sept. 12, 2023. Shayna was born on Valentine’s Day in 1985 as the Oklahoma Heart Center Baby to represent the new Heart Center at Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City. In 1999, the family moved to Dallas, where she attended Creekview High School. She graduated from UT Arlington, then SMU with a master’s in alternative dispute resolution. She was a Dallas CASA advocate helping children in foster care and a volunteer for the Crisis Suicide hotline. She worked at Caruth Police Institute, UNT Dallas, from 2010 until the very end. She loved her job as director of professional development, where her proudest achievement was a program for first responders to help decrease the staggering number of suicide deaths among law enforcement.

After marrying her high school sweetheart Devon in 2011, she had the loves of her life, Mila and Avivah. Shayna created the ‘Be Kind Birthday’ program, where they helped local organizations on each child’s birthday.

When diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019, she struggled to find resources on how to tell her girls. Along with author Nancy Churnin and in the midst of pain and chemo, the book “Mama’s Year with Cancer” was born. Shayna was so looking forward to its launch in October.

She leaves behind parents Tom and Johannah, two older brothers and her “protectors,” Rocky and Daniel. She was loved by her many aunts, uncles and cousins. She loved her nieces, Evan Sky and Everly Shayn, and nephews, Ethan and Zander. She called her Aunt Janice her second mom. Shayna was proud of her Jewish heritage and practiced tikkun olam each day, making the world a better place.

Services were held Sept. 18 at Temple Shalom. Services entrusted to Stephen B. Blend through Dallas Jewish Funerals.