Boy Changes Last Name To Honor Meriden Man Who Died Saving His Life

Written and reported by Hector Molina, WFSB 3

MERIDEN, CT — A Meriden man who died while saving his girlfriend’s son’s life in a drowning incident over the weekend is now being honored in a special way by the boy he saved.

27-year-old Kyree Dowd made the ultimate sacrifice last Saturday, saving the teen from drowning during a camping trip in Litchfield.

Now the boy he saved is legally changing his name to honor him.

Every time Stacy Pare looks down at her phone, she’s reminded of her fiancée and how much she misses him.

“On the find my iPhone app it says he’s home but he’s not home. I’m waiting for him to walk through that door,” she said.

Eyewitness News spoke to Pare at the McFairlawn Tavern in Waterbury, where her and Dowd first met.

She last saw him at Bantam Lake when they took her kids for a camping trip to celebrate her birthday and her daughters’ graduation.

But a fun day at the lake turned tragic when her 16-year-old son Nasario nearly drowned.

She says his quick thinking saved her son’s life.

“Kyree jumped right in, didn’t think twice and he got Nasario out,” continued Pare.

He was able to save Nasario’s life, but unfortunately lost his own.

“The last time Kyree went down to push my son, Kyree didn’t come back up,” she said.

Dowd was found by a rescue team and died at the hospital.

Although her children aren’t biologically his, Pare says he was the only father figure her kids ever knew and would always put them before himself.

“He helped his son live and he lost his life doing so and he wouldn’t change this for the world he would not. He said it all the time I would die for them and unfortunately he did,” continued Pare.

His brother, Handy Ellison, drove him to the lake the day before he died, never thinking that would be the last time he would see his brother.

“I just have this empty feeling because my brother from day 1 is no longer with us,” said Ellison.

But Nasario, the boy Dowd saved, is carrying on his legacy by legally changing his last name to match his.

Pare says this was her son’s decision as he received approval from Dowd’s parents.

A tribute that seems fitting for the bond the two will always have.

She says she went to probate court Tuesday morning to start the name changing process.

There will be a fundraiser held for Dowd’s family Saturday at the Grand Street Tavern in Waterbury.

(Editor's Note: This story first appeared on WFSB 3 TV and is reposted on Patch.com with permission. View more news stories at WFSB 3 TV here.)