\n<\/p>\n
A Maine<\/a> family is grieving after a father died recently saving his son and one of his daughters from drowning off the coast of Florida<\/a>, where they were on vacation.<\/p>\n The selfless nature of Ryan Jennings\u2019 actions has gained widespread attention online \u2013 and inspired his widow, Emily, to write a heartbreaking social media post which read: \u201cHis last gift to me was returning my children alive.\u201d<\/p>\n Emily also revealed that the couple had just learned they were expecting their fourth child. \u201cI\u2019m not really sure how to go on ever again,\u201d she added. \u201cI guess second by second.\u201d<\/p>\n Authorities say Jennings, 46, was swimming off Juno Beach on the afternoon of 1 April with his son, 12, and daughter, nine, when a rip current ensnared them.<\/p>\n Jennings ultimately threw his son, Jax, out of harm\u2019s way and instructed him to get help, Emily later wrote. Then, Ryan held his daughter, Charlie, above water until she could be brought to safety, too, according to the post from Emily, who was on the beach at the time building sandcastles with the couple\u2019s younger daughter, Bowie, as well as a niece.<\/p>\n Citing local emergency response officials, the Palm Beach Post reported<\/a> that lifeguards \u2013 who do not typically patrol that part of Juno Beach \u2013 pulled four people to the shore. Paramedics reportedly took three to the hospital.<\/p>\n A Juno Beach police department incident report said officers had helped pull Jennings out of the water. Officers said he was \u201cunconscious, unresponsive and not breathing\u201d by the time they encountered him.<\/p>\n Jennings was brought to a hospital in the nearby community of Jupiter, and a doctor pronounced him dead, according to police.<\/p>\n His <\/strong>children told officers on the scene that they were struggling in the water when their father \u201ccame into the ocean to save them\u201d, the police report noted.<\/p>\n NBC News reported<\/a> that local emergency response officials reported conditions on the day of Jennings\u2019 death were \u201cconsistent with the potential for rip current activity\u201d.<\/p>\n The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration<\/a> (Noaa) defines rip currents as narrow channels of rapidly moving water. They are involved in the deaths of about 100 people annually, and Noaa distinguishes them from riptides \u2013 which involve tidal water moving through inlets and the mouths of estuaries, embayments and harbors.<\/p>\n In the tribute that she subsequently posted for her late husband, Emily Jennings described him as \u201cmy soulmate and my best friend\u201d \u2013 with whom she shared a love for a dozen years \u201cthat most people never find\u201d in their lives.<\/p>\n \u201cYou gave me the most beautiful 12 years of my life,\u201d her post said. \u201cYou always had us. Our calm in any storm.\u201d<\/p>\n Emily Jennings, 35, elaborated on her marriage in an article on the news site centralmaine.com<\/a>. She told the outlet she was a single mother when she met Ryan, and he gave her and her son a place to stay after a fire destroyed her apartment.<\/p>\n Ryan went on to take in Emily\u2019s son as her own, bonding with the child over the Elvie Shane song My Boy, according to the outlet\u2019s article.<\/p>\n \u201cHe ain\u2019t my blood, ain\u2019t got my name \/ But if he did, I\u2019d feel the same,\u201d the song\u2019s lyrics say.<\/p>\n The couple got married, had two more daughters and were preparing to welcome their fourth child when they traveled to Juno Beach from their home in North Yarmouth, Maine<\/a>, a suburb of Portland.<\/p>\n Ryan made his living as a marketing executive, his father-in-law, Steve Woods, told the Palm Beach Post.<\/p>\n Jennings\u2019 <\/strong>mother, Gail McLaughlin Toti, said in her own social media post that she was grateful for first responders\u2019 efforts to save her son.<\/p>\n She told centralmaine.com that her family planned to launch a scholarship in Ryan\u2019s honor: $5,000 annually to a student from his community who best embodies his selfless spirit.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s \u2026 about character,\u201d she said to the outlet. \u201cSo that all the kids growing up in the school system \u2013 Ryan\u2019s kids \u2013 they\u2019ll all understand what it means to have an open heart.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n