Dear Whitewater Team Alumni and Friends,

Kaelan Paton, the son of Whitewater Team member Dave Paton, drowned on Tuesday, June 16th, on the Housatonic River in Connecticut.

Kaelan, age 16, was swimming with some friends in the plunge pool of the Great Falls of the Housatonic, Falls Village, CT. The river level was high. Apparently they had been in the water for some time when one of Kaelan's friends, jumping off a ledge in the falls above, landed in the wrong place and was pulled into the backwash of the falls. Kaelan went after his friend and succeeded in pushing him out, but was himself pulled down. His body was not recovered until a week later.

A memorial service will be held on July 12 at the Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village at 1:00 PM.

A non-profit memorial fund has been set up. It will first of all help with funeral expenses, from there it will go on to be an educational fund for Kaelan's 3 sisters, Linnea, Shannon and Julianna. If the fund continues to grow it will be an educational fund for children.

The address is:
The Kaelan Paton Memorial Fund
Salisbury Bank & Trust Co.
P.O. Box 7
Sharon, CT 06069

Dave's mailing address:

Dave Paton
331 Cornwall Bridge Road
Sharon, CT 06069

Our hearts go out to Dave and his family.