Duck Lake victim 'meant a lot to me'

MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) - On the day a Muskegon mother and father were to celebrate their son's future, these two parents find themselves desperately seeking the resources to bury their 18-year-old son.

Tammy Lawton was shedding tears throughout the night; she knew her son Justin Pitz will never walk through the door again.

"He meant a lot to me. He touched everybody's lives.  He was a friend. He was a great person," Tammy Lawton said.

A recent graduate from Reeths Puffer High School, the family had plans to celebrate the accomplishment today. The cake already purchased, reading "Congratulations Justin"; Justin's picture displayed proudly on the face.

"I was very proud of him. We have pictures of him walking across the stage," Donald Pitz said.

"This was a big day for him; his graduation party...and now I ended up canceling the whole event," Lawton said.

On Friday, Justin went under the water at Duck Lake in the evening . Justin was swimming with a 10-year-old companion, the son of Tammy's best friend. The two were attempting to cross the channel to the boat launch so they could have some fun and jump off.

However, something went wrong and Justin never made it. Justin's mother and father weren't on the lake, but rushed to the scene around 7:45 p.m. after getting the dreaded call.

"There was the signs of dive teams already there when I got there," Lawton said.

After an extensive search, dive teams recovered Justin's body some two hours later just off shore in deep water.

Justin was a good swimmer according to his parents, in fact he excelled at all sports, especially football. Despite dedicating hours to his other passion, video games, Justin took pride in staying in shape.

"He would talk about his abs and stuff like that," Pitz said.

About a month ago, his mother told 24 Hour News 8, her son was "jumped" by a group of people who broke his jaw. His jaw was wired shut about three weeks ago.

His mother believes this may have played a role in his drowning as it hampered his ability to breathe and he was not able to yell for help. She said he was not supposed to go into the water, and had she been at the lake she would have advised him against it.

She also said he may have been weaker than normal because he couldn't eat very well.

Though they'll always have memories, his parents will miss a beloved brother and a son. "It's going to be tough.  It's going to take a long time to heal," Pitz said.

The family is in desperate need of money to pay for funeral expenses.  If you would like to help, you can contact any PNC bank branch within Muskegon County where an account is set up in the name of Justin Pitz.

Anyone living outside of Muskegon County can call any Muskegon County PNC Bank branch to donate.

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The Hometown Creamery, 1431 Holton Road in Muskegon, will hold a fundraiser for the family of Justin Pitz beginning at 5 p.m. All of the sales will go directly to the family.