The organs of a father of six who died in a freak accident at the beach are to be donated to 55 people, as a “final act of selflessness.”
Lee Dingle, 37, was playing with his children, four of whom were adopted, at an Oak Island, North Carolina beach, when a violent wave knocked him down and broke his neck. He was transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center, but died the next day.
“He was always thinking of other people,” said Tom Caldwell, senior partner of Atlas Engineering, where he was president. “His sort doesn’t come along very often and we’re going to miss him terribly. A fine, fine, fine man.”
Dingle’s company repaired damaged buildings. He was also an on-call rescuer.
Danielle Niedfeldt, president of Carolina Donor Services said the dead man was a hero. “It’s incredible to see how many North Carolinians really make that decision to save lives of complete strangers,” she said. “There’s over 115,000 people in the U.S. waiting for organs and over 3,000 in North Carolina alone.”
Dingle was said to be devoted to his children. “I know that everything Lee did as a backbone and a support and encourager to them has equipped them to handle hard things in their lives,” said April Schweitzer, a family friend. “Because he was the kind of dad that built them up and the kind of husband who supported his wife.”
A donation page for the Dingles has raised over $174,000.
