A month after a Dunwoody man died while saving people from a riptide in Florida, he and his family were honored by firefighters and city officials.
Kim McGrady, 55, his son Colton, 17, and his son’s friend Preston Lyn, were awarded lifesaving challenge coins from a Florida fire department for their role in an ocean rescue on April 8. The trio are credited with saving nine people at Miramar Beach before McGrady, along with Layne Gravois, 21, of Louisiana, weren’t able to make it back and drowned.
Jeff Moss, a Dunwoody resident and the deputy chief for the Morrow Fire Department, presented the coins to McGrady’s wife, Leigh Anne, and the two young men on behalf of the South Walton Fire District.
“I hope these coins just provide a reminder each and every day when you see these of what each of you did and what Kim did that day and how selfless that was, and brave,” Moss said Monday. “There’s only one word and that’s a ‘hero’ (to describe) all of you.”
McGrady, a Murphy Candler Baseball coach who worked at Chick-fil-A, was at the beach with his family when he heard shouts coming from the ocean, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. About 4:50 p.m., McGrady was the first one to rush into the water to save as many people as he could. His son and Lyn were among the people who helped bring people back to shore.
Despite the tragedy, the firefighters said they wanted to honor Colton and Lyn for their roles in saving several lives.
“Colton and Preston got to experience something that not many people will, and that’s to save lives,” Moss said. “It’s something you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life.”
McGrady’s wife, Leigh Anne, accepted the coin for her husband. Friends described the couple as strong Christians who were volunteer marriage counselors at Buckhead Church. Their daughter, Kaleigh, thanked everyone who has helped them over the past month. Some of his coworkers created a GoFundMe page, which has raised more than $142,000 for his family.
“We just want to extend our thanks to everyone for everything that they’ve done and all the prayers in support,” she said.
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