Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Episode 6.15 Girard Family

Pinnacles of their community, the Girard family have always participated in a variety of volunteer efforts and charitable missions. The true heroism and courage of Thomas and Marc Girard will live forever in the memories of the many people's lives they touched, as both father and son embodied the spirit of generosity and dedication. Marc was studying to become a priest and Thomas, a computer technician by trade, donated his time to fundraising to help the elderly and the poor and to repairing computers at the children's elementary school. A year ago they lost their home in a fire and the Girards moved from a tent to a tiny camper and then to Carol's mother's house, which is almost 40 miles away from where the children go to school. The children sleep scattered throughout the house -- in the living room or in the cellar -- due to lack of space. Then one afternoon in June, Thomas took three of his children to a nearby lake for an afternoon swim. He began having trouble breathing, so Marc rushed into the lake, brought Hannah to safety and then went back into the water to help his father. Tragically his father never made it back, and Marc died trying to save him.