A funeral was held Saturday afternoon for Niguel Hamilton, the 6-year-old boy who was pulled from the bottom of a Dayton pool.
Hamilton drowned June 12 at the Lohrey Recreation Center, but died June 15 at Dayton Children’s Hospital.
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Services were held at St. Timothy Missionary Baptist Church, 4466 Free Pike.
Keith Rippley, Hamilton’s older cousin, said the funeral is a “celebration of a early life. We’re all mourning, but celebrating the best six years he lived.”
When describing Hamilton, Rippley said, “He was the life of the crowd of all the kids. He was the kid you seen either ahead of the pack or the loudest in the pack, but he was very respectful, very kind, loving, smart, very energetic.”
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“We never know what he would grow up to be,” said Rippley. “You never expect nothing like this, you gotta make everything count.”
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