“We don’t want anyone else to go through this. A life jacket could have saved Jeremiah’s life that day,” Julie Ann De Leon said.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — As families prepare to head to the lake for Labor Day weekend, officials are reminding visitors to prioritize safety on the water.
For one local mother, that message is deeply personal.
Julie Ann De Leon lost her 13-year-old son, Jeremiah De Leon, to drowning at Lake Corpus Christi in June 2024. Now, she is sharing his story and advocating for water safety in hopes of preventing another family from experiencing the same loss.
This story continues below.
“He would have been 16 this year,” De Leon said.
Jeremiah, whom De Leon called “Jay,” is being honored with a memorial bench placed by his family on Aug. 17, his birthday.
“For his birthday, which was August 17th, I wanted to place a memorial bench here in honor of Jeremiah,” De Leon said. “So we did put this plaque on here that says, ‘It wasn’t for nothing. In loving memory of Jeremiah, please wear a life jacket.'”
De Leon said continuing to talk about her son and the positive impact he had on others is part of keeping his memory and legacy alive.
“If I stop advocating and I’m not sharing about Jeremiah, and all the good things that he’s done and all the things that have happened since after his passing, then it would have been for nothing,” De Leon said.
Lake levels bring renewed focus on safety
Water levels at Lake Corpus Christi have risen significantly in recent months, and De Leon’s family said the lake has not been this high in years.
The changing water levels also mean visitors could encounter hazards beneath the surface that were not present when the water was lower.
Jamie Langham, Park Operations Trainee at Lake Corpus Christi State Park, said visitors should be aware of what could be underwater.
“With the increased water level there is still vegetation and rocks and debris that could have been brought in with the incoming water, and it could have even changed the underwater landscape,” Langham said.
Langham said the park is expecting large crowds over Labor Day weekend, making water safety especially important.
Free life jackets available at the park
In response to drowning incidents and other accidents at the lake, more resources are now available to visitors.
Lake Corpus Christi State Park has three life jacket loaner stations that are free to borrow for the public to use.
“Completely free for the public to use. We have several beneficial community partnerships that helped us get three life jacket loaner stations. Our visitors can come up here. It’s not locked,” Langham said.
The life jackets are available in a variety of sizes and can be used by visitors of all swimming abilities.
Visitors are encouraged to grab a properly fitting life jacket before getting into the water and return it to the loaner station when they leave.
For De Leon, the push for water safety extends far beyond the holiday weekend.
She hopes sharing Jeremiah’s story will encourage families to take precautions before entering the water.
“We don’t want anyone else to go through this. A life jacket could have saved Jeremiah’s life that day and if we could just save one life by advocating then again it was worth it,” De Leon said.