Remembering the life of a Meriden man who saved a life. A benefit was held for 27-year-old Kyree Dowd who died last week on Bantam Lake. His girlfriend says he saved her teenage son from drowning.
“Very energetic. He’s a hero. Amazing.”
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Those are just some of the words Stacy Pare describes her fiancée Kyree Dowd. The memories too many to count for his family. All of them related to the positive energy he had.
“He took somebody to prom because she was not out, and she wasn’t comfortable going as she was. He just took her and said we’re going to have a great time,” Heather Cole, Dowd’s mother, said.
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Dowd died last week during a camping trip while saving her son from drowning on Bantam Lake.
“He just jumped in, and I can’t say he did what anybody would do because he did what most of us can’t do,” Cole said.
The pain of the loss hitting hard for Dowd’s loved ones, but they also saw his courage as an extension of his love, especially to Pare’s children, who weren’t biologically his.
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“He lost his life to save our son and he wouldn’t change it for nothing in the world,” Pare said.
Dowd’s mother says the support has been overwhelming, especially during his funeral.
“We had a beautiful ceremony yesterday. I want to say off the top of my head, maybe 400 to 500 people were there at least,” Cole said.
The support was no different at a celebration of life at Grand Street Tavern in Waterbury, where money was being raised for the family. Pare says her children plan on legally changing their last names to match Dowd’s to carry on his namesake.
“Kyree is not gone. Kyree is going to be with us, and we will scream his name until i go back with him,” Pare said.
The family says the money raised will go towards funeral expenses and a scholarship for water safety.
