Dwayne and Rebecca Kougher and their children: Elizabeth and Aaron.James “Dwayne” Kougher, 40, of Green Hill Crossing, Gainesville died of a heart attack after shoveling snow during last Friday's blizzard.
The Kougher family has lived in Gainesville for 11 years and in Prince William County four years before that. Dwayne and his wife, Rebecca, have two children, Elizabeth, 12, and Aaron 9, who attend Bull Run Middle School and Tyler Elementary.
As Rebecca tells the story, Dwayne returned home from work Friday and began to quickly shovel snow outside their house. After clearing the driveway, the family went for a walk. Then, Dwayne shoveled some more and asked his family if they would like to take another walk.
Dwayne went inside to get his keys, but did not return. Going to check on him, the children found him lying face down on the kitchen floor, having suffered a heart attack. Elizabeth called 911, but first responders were not able to revive him.
Dwayne’s untimely death hit the family hard. A government contractor, he had just taken a new job and his life insurance had not kicked as there was about a week-long waiting period.
Hearing about the tragedy, neighbors and friends wanted to help. They went over to the Kougher home, and suggested Rebecca create a GoFundMe Page to allow other friends, neighbors and community members to help the family pay their bills.
Rebecca said she had never heard of GoFundMe herself.
“Neighbors helped to set it up,” she said.
Since then, the page has raised almost $5,500 to help the family.
Rebecca said she was fortunate that her family helped to pay for the funeral. She intends to use the money raised to pay household bills.
“We had some money in our account, but it was going to run out eventually. We didn’t have any money set aside for the funeral, but my parents helped me out to bury him,” Rebecca said. “I greatly appreciate the support”
Rebecca has been a stay-at-home mom since 2013. She decided to stay home since her daughter had aged out of daycare. She notes that Dwayne usually had life insurance through his job, so it was tragic that he died right when he about to start a new plan.
Rebecca said she is grateful for all the help she has received.
“I greatly appreciate all the people who have helped out and supported me.”
Anyone who would like to make a donation to the Kougher family can visit their GoFundMe page. On Dwayne's memorial page, Rebecca asks the community to pray for her family.
The American Heart Association says that shoveling snow is not a dangerous activity for most people, but for some the mix of physical work and cold temperatures can overwork the heart, causing heart attacks.
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