MADISON, WI (SPECTRUM NEWS) — Colleagues of Kou Her, the Madison man who died Saturday while trying to save his kids from rapids on the Wisconsin River near the Prairie Du Sac Dam, are mourning him.

Her taught for 29 years at the Madison Area Technical College, where he worked in the GED program for adults working towards getting a high school diploma equivalency.

“It's a really hard thing to be processing right now at the college, when you work with someone so closely and admire a person for just being such a kind and gentle soul, it's very difficult to lose,” said Christopher Vandall, MATC's dean of the School of Academic Advancement.

Vandall worked with Her for 11 years at MATC. He said Her was a family man, a pleasure to work with, and valued by his colleagues.

“Kou was a hero,” Vandall said “He was a hero to all the students that he connected so deeply with, he was a hero and I think idolized by people in his community at his church and the greater Hmong community, and at the Madison college community it's a great loss.”

MATC is providing grief counseling for Her's coworkers. Vandall said he had a deep impact on the students he served too.

“He created relationships with every student that he taught and served he was committed to their success, commuted to their lives and helping them move forward, it's the kind of person that he was,” Vandall said.

Her left behind three children under the age of nine and a wife. In lieu of flowers the family is asking for donations to his children. There is a fund set up for his kids at Summit Credit Union as well as a GoFundMe Page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/kou-her-memorial?fbclid=IwAR3knwUajYBWf2dpMY6naMfS30Q73hp5xUuEr9_3OALcvQwmordMInQdSbw

Vandall said the fact that Her died trying to save his children says a lot about the man.

“It didn't surprise me that he didn't hesitate to jump in the water and save his children, it's who he was, Kou would never hesitate to do that for anyone,” Vandall said.