Family of ‘Mighty Mason,’ 5-year-old E. Moriches drowning victim, receives community support

The East Moriches community and beyond is offering its support of the grief-stricken family of Mason Hammil, the 5-year-old boy who drowned in a backyard swimming pool at his East Moriches home this week.

Nicknamed “Mighty Mason” since he was a baby — due to his fighting spirit following his premature birth — Mason is being remembered as the “sweetest boy” who possessed a unique way to bring joy to the people around him.

“No matter what kind of mood you are in he will always find a way to make you laugh and smile,” Mason’s older sister Hailey Williams wrote on a GoFundMe page established this week. “Mason has gone through so much since the minute he had entered this world.”

Williams, a U.S. Marine, explained that doctors gave her little brother just “a 10 percent chance to chance to make it through his very first night.” She created the GoFundMe page on Thursday while Mason was in critical condition at Stony Brook University Hospital.

Mason was found in the pool unresponsive by his mother Wendy Hammil on Wednesday about 4:55 p.m., police said. Life-saving measures were performed on Mason until first responders arrived and took over.

The boy was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, before being transported to Stony Brook University Hospital. Police announced Thursday that Mason had been pronounced dead.

The “Mighty Mason” GoFundMe page has raised more than $13,500 as of noon on Friday. More than 225 donations have poured in, along with heartfelt comments.

You can click here to donate.

“Sweet Mason,” wrote Ann Kazacs. “He was the hardest worker. Oh what progress he made at Just Kids. He made EVERYONE smile and laugh. Virtual learning was something with him- I will always giggle thinking about him and smile as he is smiling at everyone now.”

Mason is survived by his parents, Wendy and Tony, his sister Hailey Williams, and several other siblings.

_{Top photo: Mason Hammil, 5 (Facebook).}