Two North Texans died at the end of November after falling off ladders, at least one while putting up Christmas decorations.
Mark Roath, 57, of Arlington, and Gordon Lewis, 74, of Weatherford, both died in the last days of November after falling off ladders, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office website.
Roath, a father, husband and Air Force veteran, loved Christmas, his family told Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV. He would spend one day unpacking boxes of Christmas decorations and then string lights on the house himself.
“He knew where everything went. It takes him two or three days,” his wife of 23 years, Tammy Roath, told WFAA.
That’s what he was doing on Nov. 26 with one of his sons when he fell, according to WFAA.
Roath joined the Air Force at 17 and recently retired after 38 years, WFAA reported.
“He was so committed to his family, to his church, and to the Air Force, to the military,” Tammy Roath told WFAA.
Roath’s family is asking for donations to Woodland West Church of Christ, the Wounded Warrior Project, Folds of Honor, and Holidays and Heroes to honor his memory.
An online obituary for Lewis, who died Nov. 28, said he was a husband and a father of two. It does not offer any details as to what he was doing on a ladder or how he fell, and the Weatherford Fire Department said it did not have any information to release.
Lewis died at a Fort Worth hospital, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Lewis “proudly served his country in Vietnam serving in the US Army,” the obituary states. His is survived by family including his wife, Cheryl, and two daughters.
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