Mashpee, MA— “Thomas McDonald, 46, leapt into the water when a current pulled his daughter from the lip of the Chatham beach toward the open ocean.
“The two were carried at least 300 feet. He stayed close to her, as long as he could. Rescuers were able to save Kinley, but McDonald couldn’t stay above the water’s surface.
“‘On the 31st of August, Tom was being a dad,’ Fred McDonald, father of the deceased said, breaking out in tears as he addressed the mourners.
From Drowning victim ‘was being a dad’ (Boston Globe, 9/6/08):
MASHPEE – The hum of conversation among 80 or so mourners quickly gave way to silence yesterday afternoon as the mahogany-colored casket containing Thomas McDonald was wheeled into Christ the King Church.
Behind the casket stood McDonald’s 10-year-old daughter, Kinley, who survived a harrowing odyssey at Lighthouse Beach last week when a current swept her out to sea. Her father died trying to save her. With the help of her brother and mother, Kinley unfolded a large white cloth and placed it over the casket, and then she followed it up the aisle. As she walked, several adults standing next to the aisle reached out to caress her small shoulders, and the girl flashed a nervous, sad smile in their direction. At least 300 people walked into the church behind the family.
Last Sunday, Thomas McDonald, 46, leapt into the water when a current pulled his daughter from the lip of the Chatham beach toward the open ocean.
The two were carried at least 300 feet. He stayed close to her, as long as he could. Rescuers were able to save Kinley, but McDonald couldn’t stay above the water’s surface.
“On the 31st of August, Tom was being a dad,” Fred McDonald, father of the deceased said, breaking out in tears as he addressed the mourners.
Fred McDonald said his son was dedicated to Kinley and Conner, his son, as well as his wife, Theresa. He said his son, a computer software technician, was unemployed for two years, but when a new job came up, he flatly told his interviewers at the firm that he couldn’t work on Saturdays or do much overtime because he had to be there for his family. “Nevertheless, they offered him the job and he accepted the position,” McDonald said…
At Lighthouse Beach yesterday, Susan Hanifan took a stroll along the shore and remarked that the beauty of the beach concealed its dangers. “When people come out here, they don’t see the currents and what’s underneath the water”…
Read the full article here. To read more stories of heroic men sacrificing themselves to save their families, click on our archive here.
Thanks to Jed Hresko for the story.