Lawers County Coroner Nathan Stanley says Doug Brownlee died Friday morning after a tree fell on a home on Claremont Drive.
“It's almost like in this area, it wasn't just a hurricane, it was a tornado,” Kay Donaldson said.
She lived several houses from the Brownlee family. The Brownlees had about six trees on top of their house, witnesses said.
However, the pile of wood is not what struck the neighbors the most. This is the life they lost buried under the pile.
“He was so — he was so nice,” Meredith Mitchell said.
Mitchell said Brownlee was so kind, he often shared items from his garden, which was also destroyed in the storm.
“He just loved spending time out there with his garden with all the vegetables and growing things,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell says he was caring and concerned for his widowed neighbors.
“It's almost like losing family because they've been so close for so many years,” she said.
Donaldson says family was very important to him. She last saw Brownlee and his wife walking their grandchildren down this street.
“She pushed one, he pushed one and held one and they were just a good close-knit family,” Donaldson said.
Neighbors say its impact shook the neighborhood more than the storm.
“He will be sorely missed in this neighborhood,” Donaldson said.
The county coroner says Brownlee's wife was inside the home but was not injured.
Now neighbors are praying for the family facing more storms as they clean up and grieve.
Coroner Nathan Stanley says the other death in the county happened after a tree fell on Route 441 early Friday morning.
The downed tree stopped a tractor trailer with a couple from Kentucky inside. When they stopped, a second tree fell, killing 48-year-old Angela Edwards. Her husband was treated for minor injuries.
