PIERRE, S.D. (KELO.com) — As anticipated, a large crowd gathered in Steamboat Park in Pierre this morning (July 16) to honor a man who made a positive difference to many different people.
Family, friends, emergency responders, and members of the South Dakota National Guard came together to honor Lee Weber, who passed away over the Independence Day weekend. Weber’s obituary says the 37-year-old, along with his wife Wendy, have six children. Weber was the Hughes County Chief Deputy and a member of the South Dakota National Guard. He served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Weber jumped into the river July 3 to save his eight-year-old son who had fallen from a moving boat. The child was saved by a nearby boater. Weber wasn’t wearing a life jacket and was swept away by the river’s current. His body was found the afternoon of July 9.
A GoFundMe page has been established for Weber’s family. It says donations will be used to assist with memorial expenses, daily expenses that come with raising six children and future educational expenses. In addition to the fundraising website, the Lee Weber Memorial Account has been established at BankWest.
(Jody Heemstra, DRG News, contributed this report.)
