Mom starts fundraiser for woman who died saving her drowning son

NILES

A mom who nearly lost her son to drowning at the Mosquito Lake State Park beach Monday afternoon has started a GoFundMe effort for the family of Christine Beheler, the Niles woman who saved the boy but died.

Jessica Marvin called Beheler a hero and said she can never repay Beheler for saving her son. “I want to do all that I can to help,” Marvin said. “My son is still here because of her selfless act.”

Marvin said her son and daughter were invited to go swimming with Beheler and her family at the lake.

“During their time there, my son began to struggle near the buoy as his sister and best friend cried for help,” Marvin said on the GoFundMe page Marvin created.

“Christine Beheler, my son’s’ best friend’s mother, rushed out to save him and managed to get him close enough to safety before she herself began to struggle. Christine unfortunately was pronounced dead at the hospital and spent her final act on this earth as a hero.

“Christine leaves behind four school-age children who are all heartbroken by these tragic events,” Marvin wrote. “In the coming days ahead, they will have to figure out funeral expenses, medical bills and switching schools and how they will move on from such a tragedy.

The GoFundMe page is http://www.gofundme.com/f/christine-saved-my-son039s-life-now-help-her-family ">

As of this morning, the page has raised $2,245 of Marvin’s $5,000 goal through 70 donations.

A woman who donated $100 wrote, “This act of selflessness came at a great cost. My heart breaks for you and your family.”

Another donor wrote: “She is a hero. She saved another and her children have lost her. What ever can be done to help her should be done.”