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Here are the 17 victims of the Missouri duck boat tragedy

Nine members of one family, a couple celebrating their 45th anniversary and a grandmother credited with saving her granddaughter's life are among the victims of the Branson, Missouri, duck boat tragedy.

Officials say the duck boat, an amphibious tour vessel, went down during a windy thunderstorm with 31 people aboard Thursday evening, leaving 17 dead.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.

Coleman family 

Nine members of an Indiana family died as a result of the tragedy.

Family member Ingrid Coleman mourned the deaths on Friday night from her home in Indianapolis. "They were very loved. It’s a huge family on all sides," she said.

The victims included her two uncles, aunt, cousins and their children. "It’s unimaginable. I would never have thought I would have lost this number of people this way."

Nine victims represented three generations of the family: Horace Coleman, 70  and his wife Belinda Coleman, 69; Angela Coleman, 45 and her son Maxwell Coleman, 2; Ervin Coleman, 76; Glenn Coleman, 40 and his children Evan Coleman, 7, Reece Coleman, 9  and Arya Coleman, 1.

Bob Williams, 73 – Missouri

Even though Robert “Bob” Williams never served in the military, he worked tirelessly to help veterans and those who ended up homeless in the Branson area.

Williams was known as “Captain Bob” and served as a pillar in the small community.

"He was one of the most wonderful people I've ever met. He was a Christian man. he was a lover of people," said Almer Jackson, the founder and CEO of USA Veterans Hope Center, a venture Williams was passionate about.

Williams and his wife, Judith, were inaugural board members of the nonprofit organization in Springfield, Missouri, and helped raise money.

"We love Bob. Bob was more than a board member, he was a friend, mentor and father and grandfather to our family," Jackson said in a statement.

Williams, who grew up in Alabama, moved to the Branson area after working for years in building maintenance at the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. He formerly worked as a chauffeur at Branson Limousine & Executive Charter Inc.

Judith Williams said her husband was planning to take over her job, saying with a smile "my husband was going to run for mayor when you were finished."
Williams also served on the city's chamber of commerce.

William Asher, 69, and Rosemarie Hamann, 68 – Missouri

William Asher and Rosemarie Hamann lived in St. Louis County and were a longtime couple, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

"They were two of the nicest people you will ever meet in your entire life," Patti Zimmer Lewis told the Dispatch. She said she was friends with the couple.

William Bright, 65, and Janice Bright, 63 – Missouri

William and Janice Bright were visiting Branson to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary, Karen Abbott — William's sister — told the Kansas City Star.

"This was their getaway, just for them," she told the paper.

"My brother was my best friend in the world. He was the one person– It was just him and I," she said.

The couple lived in Higginsville, Missouri, according to the Star.

Leslie Dennison, 64 – Illinois 

Dennison was visiting Branson with her granddaughter and had just arrived in town before the fatal accident, the Kansas City Star reports.

Todd Dennison — Leslie Dennison's son — told the paper that his mother saved his daughter, the paper reports.

Dennison's daughter told him from her hospital bed about how the boat sank. She said that she could feel her grandmother pushing her from below as they were submerged.

“She said her grandmother saved her,” he told the paper.

Steve Smith, 53,  and Lance Smith, 15 – Arkansas

Steve Smith, 53, was a deacon at a church at Osceola Church of Christ in northeast Arkansas. His son, Lance, 15, had just been baptized.

The pair were visiting Branson from their home in Arkansas.

“He was like a son to me,” Will Hester, who identified himself as a family friend, wrote on Facebook of Lance.

“He was the perfect example of humility and compassion! He cared about everyone. My heart breaks but I know where they are and I know that I will see them again.”

Hester wrote that he’d recently got Lance to “break out of his shell” at a devotional and he’d personally baptized the teen last year.

The Christian Chronicle reported that one other member of the family was aboard the vessel when it sank — Loren, Lance's sister. She survived, the publication reports.

Contributing: Christal Hayes, USA TODAY; Megan Henry, IndyStar​