Scout Leader Remembered As Loving Mother, Generous Volunteer
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CARROLTON (CBSDFW.COM) - A group of Boy Scouts is home after a tragic camping trip that claimed the lives of a fellow scout and a scout leader. The local troop was on a trip to Minnesota near the Canadian border when severe storms swept through.
First United Methodist Church Carrollton is not only where that scout troop meets regularly, it's also where scout leader Nickie Lac was a beloved member for years, and her church family is remembering her as a devoted woman of service.
Friends say Lac was the go to volunteer for causes dear to them.
"She was just a really amazing woman, and I think that it's very sad. Her loss is very sad," longtime friend Penny Howard said.
Howard counted on Lac to help organize an annual fundraiser for seizure research and awareness. Lac's oldest son's scout troop was another outlet for her volunteerism, so much so Howard says no one could have imagined anything would go wrong.
"She was a very experienced camper, and I don't feel like this was a situation where she didn't know what to do, and that's why it happened. I think she was doing everything right, and that's why more people didn't die," Howard said.
Storms that moved through the scout troop's camp site sent strong winds that knocked down trees killing Lac and 13-year-old Christian Sanchez and injuring two others.
"I feel for her family because I know right now it's just a nightmare," Howard said.
For now Howard wants Lac's husband and four children to be able to grieve privately, but when they're ready, she hopes the outpouring of support from loved ones will bring them comfort.
"Within the next few weeks school will be starting, and he'll have to get a little girl's hair ready, and he'll have to take them to school and carpool, and he'll have to figure out how to do all that, and that's when I think it's appropriate for me to step in and say, 'how can I help you?'" Howard said.
Church officials will be helping the family with funeral arrangements in the days ahead. The Boy Scouts have also offered grief counseling to its members and volunteers.
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