Channel 2 Action News has learned former metro Atlanta resident Dennis Callahan is one of dozens of people killed by flooding in Texas.
Callahan had raised his son Michael as a single parent in Cobb County but moved to Houston two years ago to be close to his son.
“Dennis was always cheering Michael on. One hundred percent,” family friend Nancy Bayless said.
Bayless says when Michael Callahan was on the football field, his dad was always there.
Michael Callahan said storms hit Houston so suddenly Monday his father and a woman were stranded in their vehicles. The elder Callahan left his car and began to push the stranger's vehicle out of the rising floodwaters, but the 65-year-old collapsed and died of a heart attack.
“He was always somebody who would take care of somebody else,” Bayless said.
Bayless says she believes Callahan died a hero, doing what he always did.
“He died a hero because was about helping others,” she said.
Bayless says she remembers Dennis Callahan as a second father to her own son and a good friend to her family.
Most of all, she said, he was a good, helpful person.
“He was a great guy. He was a great guy and we'll miss him,” Bayless said.
Michael Callahan said he hopes the tragedy reminds people to tell their loved ones they love them, because we never know what tomorrow may bring.
