Wife speaks about her husband who drowned in the Great Sacandaga Lake

Only On 13: A wife is opening up about her husband, who drowned in the Great Sacandaga Lake while saving their child.

Albert Adamkoski jumped in the water on July 8 to save their daughter, but submerged into the water seconds after he saved her. He never resurfaced.

His wife, Hannah, said his courageous act lines up with his character.

“If there were any other way he could go, he would have gone saving his daughter. There was no other option,” she said.

Hannah and Albert were married for 14 years.

She said her husband had a big heart. It was who he was. He would do anything for his kids.

“This is a lot for my children to deal with. They watched it happen to their father. I don’t want in any way for my children to feel that it was their fault because it wasn’t. God has a time for each of us, and it was his time,” Hannah said.

Albert has six kids, ranging from the ages of 8 to 25 years old.

Albert, Hannah, and four of the kids went to the lake for a family fun day.

“He [Albert] grew up on that lake. We spent a lot of time on that lake with our kids. We had a lot of happy times there,” Hannah said.

Hannah said some of their kids were playing on a shallow sand bar but did not realize it dropped off. That’s when they started screaming for help. Most of the kids made it out, but one child was struggling.

Hannah said Albert was an excellent swimmer — and knew he was the only one that could save his daughter.

“He was the only one that had the ability to swim that far. He ran from the boat, jumped, and just swam out there as quickly as possible,” she said. “He didn’t think twice. Just swam out there and kept her above water.”

However, Albert was struggling to keep himself afloat. He did not make it.

Many people were out on the lake that day looking for him.

“We already knew at that point. We did not see him anymore. We were screaming for him. He was already underwater at that point,” Hannah said.

Albert’s life abruptly ended, but he did it for his daughter. 

“That’s the way he went but you know what, it just encapsulated who he was,” Hannah said.

Albert’s family created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the funeral costs.

The family says the funeral will be held on Wednesday, July 13 at the church Albert opened up 10 years ago, the Log Cabin Church located at 413 Progress Rd, Gloversville, NY. Albert was a pastor at the church.

Everyone is welcome to attend the funeral service. It starts at 4 p.m.

Watch the video to hear more about the life Albert created before he died.