Edward Jay Fillingham saved Amanda L. Roberts, Kiefer S. Hockey, and Douglas Daury from drowning, Henderson, New York, April 17, 2009. The paddleboat that Roberts, 22; Hockey, 17; and Daury, 27, were operating overturned in Henderson Bay of Lake Ontario in water about 20 feet deep at a point about 1,500 feet from shore. They shouted for help as they struggled in the 41-degree water. At his home on the shore in that vicinity, Fillingham, 75, retired mason, witnessed the accident. He assembled a paddle and life jackets and then, despite suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, which compromised his swimming ability, launched a 12-foot aluminum canoe and rowed through choppy water out to the victims. They grasped the sides of the canoe as Fillingham retraced his course to shore, towing them. The victims left wadable water and were taken into Fillingham’s home, where they warmed.
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