Ten years ago, Tiffany Lobach of Lehighton suffered incomprehensible grief when she lost a son and her mother the same day. Her mother drowned in the Lehigh River trying to save her son. He died later that night in the hospital.

Lobach is using that tragedy as an instrument to prevent others from experiencing the same heartbreak.

She joined with friends and family to create the Nolan Ritchie Staying Afloat Foundation, which raises funds to promote swimming safety, and give swimming vests to youngsters. In the 10 years since the foundation’s beginning, hundreds of free vests bearing the group’s logo have been given away.

The tragic drownings happened on the hot afternoon of June 22, 2012. Tiffany vividly recalls that it rained hard earlier in the day.

It became hot and humid and Tiffany’s mother, Wanda Wentz, of Lehighton, called and asked to take the grandchildren “to the creek to collect river rocks,” Tiffany said. She didn’t realize she meant the Lehigh River.

Wentz, of Lehighton, took the grandchildren, Nolan Ritchie, then age 7, and his sister, Cora Ritchie, who was 10 at the time, both from Coaldale, to an area of the Lehigh River in Lehighton which was a common swimming area.

Another brother, Tristan, 13, couldn’t go because he was attending summer school.

Fateful day

Another adult and other children were swimming there.

While collecting rocks might have been the intention, the children went into the water, and Nolan got caught up in the river’s rapids. Wanda, age 49, was described as a good swimmer by Tiffany, but she still drowned as she made a desperate attempt to reach Nolan.

Another older youth also jumped into the water but was unable to reach the youngster.

Cora, who is now 20, still has vivid recollections of that fateful day. She valiantly tried to keep her composure as she related the incidents of that June afternoon.

She said she saw Nolan “try to doggie paddle in the rapids. I yelled at the older kid to save him. I feel bad now yelling at the older kid.” The older child did jump into the river to try to save Nolan, but couldn’t find him.

Two Lehighton police officers arrived and one leaped into the river in full uniform after Nolan. The boy, who earlier that month finished first grade, was transported to a local hospital and died in the middle of the night.

His mother said he would have been graduating from Panther Valley High School this coming school year.

Nolan’s father, Robert Ritchie, of Coaldale, said the loss of Nolan has been a living hell.

“It’s been 10 years of emptiness. It’s a struggle every day.”

“It hurts,” he said. “It changed all our lives, for sure.”

Foundation formed

Two months after the incident, Robert and Tiffany’s marriage fell apart, he said.

“We get along great now,” said Robert about his ex-wife, with Tiffany nodding agreement. Both Robert and Tiffany are involved with the foundation.

Especially instrumental in helping to create the Nolan Ritchie Stay Afloat Foundation were Nolan’s godfather, Steve Krynock; his wife, April, who is a lifelong friend of Tiffany, and another longtime friend, Karen Berk.

Foundation members participate in the annual Safety Day at Mauch Chunk Lake Park), various other safety programs, speak to schoolchildren and organizations on swimming safety, have a presence in parades and help local families of drowning victims.

Berk said it was decided to form the foundation when fundraising events were held to help the family at the time of the drownings. “There were excess funds and they were used to start the foundation,” she said.

Besides buying vests that are given away, the foundation has given monetary donations to the Lehighton Fire Department for its water rescue unit and to a local police department for throw bags that can be used if police officers arrive on the scene of a water rescue situation.

The foundation also honored the two Lehighton Police officers who attempted to save Nolan.

April Krynock said the foundation also purchases season passes for Mauch Chunk Lake to keep families from going to rivers to swim.

Tiffany said, “People go to the rivers (to swim) because it’s free. We don’t want to discourage that. It’s recreation. We just want them to wear life jackets when they swim there.”

April told of the agony the families lived through following the drownings.

“The first month, everything was cloudy,” she said. You just go through the motions. And then you realize you have to try to support the rest of the family.”

Tiffany said she joined a support group, not only to get her through the tough times but also so “I could reach out to other mothers and say, ‘I know your pain.’?”

Robert said it’s painful to hear about any drownings, but when it happens to someone you know it’s especially heartbreaking. He said this happened last month when Panther Valley High School graduate Rene Figueroa drowned in Lake Hauto. The drowning was ruled accidental.

Karen’s son, Seth, played basketball at Panther Valley on the high school team with Figueroa. He said he just saw Figueroa a week before he died.

“Our children grew up watching Rene play sports or played sports with him,” said April.

Prevention

Robert said, “Almost every accidental drowning could have been prevented. It changes lives. It wrecks lives.”

Karen said, “One of the most rewarding things since helping with the foundation is seeing pictures of children swimming and wearing vests showing the Nolan Ritchie Foundation.”

Tiffany said that it is especially important to wear vests swimming in rivers, because “you could be the best swimmer in the world, but in the river it’s not going to help you.”

Robert feels Nolan might still be here if only he had been wearing a life jacket.

Nolan’s memory remains not only with the foundation, but the Panther Valley Elementary School annually presents an award in his name.

Because this would be Nolan’s senior year, the foundation is working on establishing a scholarship to a high school student in his memory. Details of the scholarship still have to be worked out.

Tiffany said one other goal of the foundation is to find someone to give local youths swimming lessons. She said this might be more practical if and when the Lansford Community Pool reopens.

According to the National Drowning Awareness Day, website, an estimated 236,000 people drown every year. It is one of the top 10 causes of fatalities of children aged 5-14.

Tiffany still wonders why they went to the Lehigh River for a swim. One reason is that past generations often had a favorite local swimming spot. Another reason might be that the mother didn’t have enough money to take them to the public pool, since they had been there the previous day.

April said that several times members of the foundation went to the site of the drownings on the anniversary of Wanda’s and Nolan’s deaths. While there, they still saw people swimming in the same waters that took the lives of her friends.

Tiffany said one thing to remember is, “All accidental drownings can be prevented.”

For more information on the Nolan Ritchie Staying Afloat Foundation, visit their Facebook page. Donations or correspondence can be sent to Nolan Ritchie Staying Afloat Foundation, Grace Community Church, 15 W. Ridge St., Lansford, PA 18232.