In Memory of Anand Baghel: Support His Family

Anand Baghel

My Papa.

The bravest man I know died fighting for his life.

My family was on Candlewood Lake in Sherman, celebrating my mom's birthday on August 15th. A time meant for celebration was abruptly cut short when my father jumped into the lake for a swim and didn't resurface. It took 25 hours to locate his body.

My sister, who has been an avid swimmer for many years, tried her best to save her dad. I remember my mom telling me "I watched him drown".

I remember feeling like this would never have happened, had I been there too.

During this time, the sacrifices he made and the responsibilities he carried have been made painfully present. Never in my life have I felt so weak. My dad was my strength.

My family could use all the strength we could get. There are funeral arrangements for our family and friends in America, and a service will take place for our family in India. After the loss of my father, one of the biggest and most necessary evils is finances. To lose a father can't be easy for anyone, but we also lost our handyman, our driver, our coordinator, our dean, our party animal, and our bank. Our rock. Our everything. We lost everything, all at once.

In lieu of flowers; stories and support would be greatly appreciated.

Aali, Aditi, Anu

*due to the nature of this incident, the family requests privacy and discretion during this time*

I would like to add that my father would not approve of this at all, but if he was here, he would know what to do. This goes completely against his code, but he loved his family more than anything in the world. Please be respectful when sharing this tragedy.