‘A smile that would melt the Arctic.’ KY flood victim remembered as a friend to all

Everyone in Pike County’s Millard neighborhood who knew Gary Damron, 72, loved him — and his German Shepherd, Princess — said his niece, Tanisha May.

“He was always checking on everyone and would do anything for anybody, family or not,” May said in an interview with the Herald-Leader.

“Anybody’s life that he touched loved him,” said his sister, Daphene Boyd, adding that he treated strangers the same as he treated his best friends.

Damron was one of 14 people killed in flooding and other extreme weather the past week in Kentucky. Three of those deaths happened in Pike County — Damron, Robert Kelly, 71, and Scottie Bryant, 70. The rest were spread across much of the state.

Boyd said hundreds of people have commented on her Facebook page sharing that Damron was a good person, and they loved and will miss him.

“He would give you the shirt off his back. He had a smile that would melt the Arctic,” Boyd said.

On Saturday, with floodwaters rising, Damron gave a family member a ride to the Phelps area, in eastern Pike County, and then dropped them back off in the area of Ridgeline Road, a relative said.

He called one of his sisters around 11:15 p.m. to check in and tell her he was safe. He was going to try to navigate the area near Fedscreek, south of Phelps, May said.

“Two hours went by, and no one heard back from him, and he still hadn’t made it home. We couldn’t get an answer on his cell,” she said.

At 11:30 p.m., May learned a mudslide had happened in the area Damron was driving.

“I knew if he made it past the slide, he couldn’t come back the other way,” May said. The family called 911. Kentucky State Police said they couldn’t access that area because of worsening conditions, May said.

“We were praying he made it to higher ground or to the Fedscreek shelter. We had so many kind people looking for him,” May said.

Damron’s nephew — who had received a ride from his uncle one night earlier — went out searching for him. He found Damron’s body the next morning inside his 2013 Ford F-150, which was in a creek bank near Biggs.

The nephew stayed with Damron until first responders arrived and as officials worked at the scene, Boyd said.

Damron’s beloved dog, Princess, who was always by his side, was still there when the nephew found his uncle, May said.

The dog seems to be grieving her owner, Boyd said, but is physically well.

This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 3:58 PM.