OLIVE BRANCH, Miss — Family and friends gathered to pay their respects to a DeSoto County Deputy who drowned while saving his son during a family vacation on Florida’s gulf coast this past week.
William Nichols was director of the county’s search and rescue team. He was laid to rest at the Longview Heights Baptist Church in Olive Branch, Mississippi Sunday afternoon.
Nichols drowned while saving his 10-year-old son at the Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Family members say the boy was caught in a riptide when his dad rushed out to save his son.
Colleagues tell Local 24 News he was a hard worker who loved his family dearly.
“William died a hero’s death and we’re gonna give him a hero’s funeral,” said Chief Justin Smith. “He was somebody that we could all learn from and somebody we all respected. Nobody ever had anything bad to say about him.”
Nichols leaves behind a wife and two children.