A grandfather in Alabama has been hailed a hero after suffering a heart attack when he saved his grandson during a family vacation.
The family of Charles ‘Chuck’ Graves are left grieving after the 75-year-old saved his five-year-old grandson from drowning.
Graves had noticed the child had been pulled into a current and swept into waters off Dauphin Island, Alabama.
He dove in and swam out to the boy, bringing him back to safer waters before handing him to a relative.
The family said that Grave’s final act demonstrated how important family was to him, Valerie Belt had said how ‘he loved them all’
Graves dove into the water to save his five-year-old grandson before passing away from a heart attack
Graves’s obituary reiterated that nothing was more important to him than his family, and a Celebration of Life will be held after his cremation as he wished
Graves instructed them to return to shore, but didn’t follow. Family members knew something else was wrong and were initially afraid he was drowning.
First responders pulled Graves out and he was flown to hospital in a helicopter, where he arrived in critical condition.
The heroic grandfather had endured a fatal heart attack after saving the boy.
‘We think… Chuck already knew something was wrong or that something was happening because he never made an attempt to swim in, even though he was out of harm’s way already,’ told Grave’s daughter-in-law, Valerie Belt, to WALA.
The family said that Grave’s final act demonstrated how important family was to him, Belt had said how ‘he loved them all’.
‘That was always the one thing. He was definitely one of a kind,’ Belt added.
Graves was born and raised in Paducah, Kentucky, before moving to Estero, Florida, the family were visiting the beach vacation spot on October 9.
‘He just wanted all of his kids together all the time,’ said daughter-in-law Valerie Belt
The grandfather left behind a son, two daughters, four grandchildren and his wife, Maura. Belt said that he had made a point of travelling and doting on his family, especially after he had retired from the US Navy after four years of service.
‘He just wanted all of his kids together all the time,’ Belt told the outlet.
According to his obituary, Graves retired to Florida and spent much of his time on the water ‘trying to catch that big fish’. He and his wife married in 1975, and the pair would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in January.
His obituary reiterated that nothing was more important to him than his family, and a Celebration of Life will be held after his cremation as he wished.
