Jul. 26—ROCHESTER — Family and friends remember Ron Highet as someone who could fix anything electronic.
His willingness to help out went beyond just computers, too.
“He was always one to help out people,” said Heidi Highet, Ron’s sister-in-law.
When he saw a 12-year-old girl and family friend struggling against the current in the Mississippi River near Lake City, Minnesota on Saturday, July 19, 2025, Ron’s inclination to help kicked in. He swam to the girl to help her. She was pulled from the water by boaters, according to the Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office.
Ron disappeared in the water and didn’t resurface. His body was recovered from the river the next day. He was 56.
Ron was close with his family and protective of his three children, two 22-year-old twin boys and a 19-year-old daughter, Heidi said. She felt honored to be one of the first people he would trust to leave his children with if he needed a sitter.
Ron was also an avid rock collector.
“He would collect them and polish them and make things with them,” Heidi said.
The hobby got him outdoors and he would take the twins on rock hunting expeditions, she added.
Ron’s family has set up a Go Fund Me to pay for memorial services and bills. In it, Heidi wrote that Ron’s “selfless act of courage in those final moments perfectly captured the way he lived his life: always putting others first.”
Heidi said his children are devastated by the sudden loss of their father.
“When you lose a parent, especially when you lose a parent so young, it’s a tough thing,” said Heidi. “The family is trying to help them and support them in any way we can.”
She said his three kids have been working hard planning a memorial and dealing with the legal work that comes with losing a family member.
“They really took it upon themselves to take care of the arrangements,” Heidi said.
The fundraiser is intended to help with some of that burden.
The response has been astonishing, she said. More than $8,700 has been raised so far.
“I had no idea how it was going to go,” she said.
A reason for the generous response is likely the fact that Ron gave his life to try to save someone else.
“I really think that resonates with people and I’m glad it does,” Heidi said. “He was trying to save her and he gave his life to help save her.”