Drowning victim 'was being a dad'

He tried to save daughter off Chatham

MASHPEE - The hum of conversation among 80 or so mourners quickly gave way to silence yesterday afternoon as the mahogany-colored casket containing Thomas McDonald was wheeled into Christ the King Church.

Behind the casket stood McDonald's 10-year-old daughter, Kinley, who survived a harrowing odyssey at Lighthouse Beach last week when a current swept her out to sea. Her father died trying to save her. With the help of her brother and mother, Kinley unfolded a large white cloth and placed it over the casket, and then she followed it up the aisle. As she walked, several adults standing next to the aisle reached out to caress her small shoulders, and the girl flashed a nervous, sad smile in their direction. At least 300 people walked into the church behind the family.

Last Sunday, Thomas McDonald, 46, leapt into the water when a current pulled his daughter from the lip of the Chatham beach toward the open ocean.

The two were carried at least 300 feet. He stayed close to her, as long as he could. Rescuers were able to save Kinley, but McDonald couldn't stay above the water's surface.

"On the 31st of August, Tom was being a dad," Fred McDonald, father of the deceased said, breaking out in tears as he addressed the mourners.

Fred McDonald said his son was dedicated to Kinley and Conner, his son, as well as his wife, Theresa. He said his son, a computer software technician, was unemployed for two years, but when a new job came up, he flatly told his interviewers at the firm that he couldn't work on Saturdays or do much overtime because he had to be there for his family. "Nevertheless, they offered him the job and he accepted the position," McDonald said.

Pastor Daniel F. Hoye presided over the funeral, opening by saying "'Tis a puzzlement. We don't understand, we don't know why this happened, an accident that claimed this young man's life without warning. It is puzzling when it happens to someone in the prime of their life."

Thomas McDonald was remembered as a man who could fix almost anything, who built his first car, a hot-rod, at the age of 16. He had a great sense of humor and was an outdoorsman. He was the third person to drown at Chatham's Lighthouse Beach since 2005.

Chatham town officials voted Wednesday night to suspend swimming at Lighthouse Beach. Swimming is not prohibited at other beaches in the town, and the officials will investigate how best to move forward regarding the beach next summer. There are several signs at the popular beach that warn visitors about treacherous currents.

At Lighthouse Beach yesterday, Susan Hanifan took a stroll along the shore and remarked that the beauty of the beach concealed its dangers. "When people come out here, they don't see the currents and what's underneath the water. Even when the waves are choppy, it still looks inviting, but the ocean is so strong, so powerful," said Hanifan, 43, who co-owns a summer house on the Cape and has swum at Lighthouse Beach in past years.

"I haven't gone in a while, because it's just too dangerous and deep in some places."

Donations can be made to the McDonald Family Fund c/o Middlesex Savings Bank. Call 978-952-6366.