14-year-old boy named David suffered devastating loss after witnessing both his mom and dad die withing a very short period of time.
His dad, Kenneth Lowery, lost his life in a bizarre scuba-diving accident just three weeks after his mom died of cancer.
The father and son went to the annual scuba-diving trip to Florida because they didn’t want to buck the tradition so they chartered a boat and set off for the dark waters off Juno Beach.
It was around 9 a.m when the two went on the tour with the Republic IV charter boat, according to the authorities. Just 50 minutes later, at around 9:50 a.m they down into the water but minutes later only David, known as Xander, resurfaced and started yelling for help. Jupiter police and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission came to Lowery’s rescue and searched the waters in the region of Captain Mike’s reef. Shortly after, they were able to find his lifeless body.
At the time of the tragic accident, Lowery was dive-certified and was about to become a diving instructor.
Before drowning, Lowery pushed his son up towards the top and David started swimming as quick as he could. But when he turned his head, he realized his dad wasn’t there.
“He called his big brother and told him he was standing there and that he thought his daddy had drowned,’ Xander’s grandmother Kelly Bezayiff shared with WPTV.
“They went out I guess on a boat. They went down. He knew there were problems, and he tried to get his dad back up, and he couldn’t get him back up,” she added.
David’s parents were divorced, but Lowery and his wife remained close. In fact, Bezayiff, Lowery’s former mother-in-law, spoke of him with affection and added that despite he and his daughter were separated, he was there for her during her cancer battle every step of the way.
“He was phenomenal to my daughter as she was dying. He was there for her, even though they weren’t together anymore,” Bezayiff said. “I mean, he was just that type of guy.”
Xander lost both his mom and dad in the course of just three weeks. We can’t imagine the pain and the grief he’s been going through. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and the rest of his family.