Husband of Christian Blogger Dies in ‘Freak Accident’ at Beach

A North Carolina man died Friday after a wave hit his head and broke his neck at the beach. Lee Dingle, husband to Christian blogger Shannon Dingle and father of six, was playing with his kids when the accident occurred.

Shannon, a sex-trafficking survivor and writer for Sojourners, announced her husband’s death on Twitter and Instagram:

My partner, my love, and my home died today after a freak accident. Lee was playing on the beach with three of our kids yesterday, and an intense wave hit him just right to slam his head into the sand and break his neck. 1/

— Shannon Dingle (@ShannonDingle) July 20, 2019

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My partner, my love, and my home died yesterday after a freak accident. Lee was playing on the beach with three of our kids yesterday, and an intense wave hit him just right to slam his head into the sand, break his neck, and make his throat swell so much his brain was deprived of oxygen for too long to recover. Some heroes – including our kids – tried to save him, but it wouldn’t have mattered what they did. His body couldn’t recover from the initial injury. We met when I was 18 and he was 19, and we’ve been together ever since. I wasn’t supposed to be saying goodbye at 37. I don’t know how to be a grown up without him, but I’ll learn. I just wish I didn’t have to. . Details to come about all the things. Please pray for us. And, you know, feel free cuss and smash stuff because God knows I’ll be doing some of that. (And breathing and hydrating and eating and all those self care things because I am worth it and because I have 6 little people to parent.) . ❤️.

A post shared by Shannon Dingle (@shannondingle) on Jul 20, 2019 at 9:15pm PDT

Shannon says several people, including her kids, tried to save Lee, but his body couldn’t recover from the initial injury. His throat swelled up for too long, depriving his brain of oxygen.

“We met when I was 18 and he was 19, and we’ve been together ever since,” she says. “I wasn’t supposed to be saying goodbye at 37. I don’t know how to be a grown up without him, but I’ll learn. I just wish I didn’t have to.”

Friends created a GoFundMe page to help pay for the Dingles’ funeral expenses.

“Lee loved and lived generously,” according to the page. “The magnitude of this loss cannot be understated.”

The Dingles adopted several of their children, one of whom has cerebral palsy, and documented their journey through Shannon’s blog.