LAKE GENEVA — 45-year-old Kyle Ascheman was a notable presence in Lake Geneva before he drowned in a boating accident during a family vacation. Friends of the family want to make sure they will be financially stable after his death.
Marieke Spiegelman and Patty Kingston Brever organized a GoFundMe for the Ascheman family's funeral expenses and continued support. It has raised nearly $4,000 of its $50,000 goal so far.
Spiegelman and Kingston Brever grew up alongside Ascheman's widow and their children are classmates at Central-Denison Elementary School.
"It's really shocking, I feel like that's the only word I can use to describe it," Spiegelman said. "Even now, it doesn't necessarily feel real."
"I saw him every day, twice a day, at pick-up and drop-off at school," Kingston Brever said. "It's going to be hard to not see him out there anymore."
Ascheman was on a small boat alone during a family vacation in Lac du Flambeau last month when he went overboard. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Watch: Friends of Lake Geneva man killed in boating accident set up fundraiser for his family
Kingston Brever said she asked Ascheman's widow to create a GoFundMe after her own experience with grief.
"I lost my dad when I was a little girl, so I think about it from the standpoint of the kids," Kingston Brever said. "We know she is facing an unimaginable amount of grief. Anything that's going to come from here on out is going to be harder."
Spiegelman and Kingston Brever hope people in Lake Geneva and beyond remember Ascheman beyond the circumstances of his death.
"I just thought he was always so warm and funny," Kingston Brever said.
"He's seriously the friendliest person and would go out of his way to be helpful," Spiegelman said. "People are now making their effort in good faith to say, 'I want to be helpful in this way.' That's always what you want to see from your community."
If you wish to donate to Ascheman's family, you can do so at this link.
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