Family, Friends Pay Tribute to Patriots Fan Who Died After Fight in Stands: ‘A Loving Soul Who Cared So Much’

Family and friends of Dale Mooney, the 53-year-old New Hampshire man who died after a fight at Gillette Stadium, are remembering the diehard New England Patriots fan as a "hardworking family man" with a "loving soul who cared so much."

Mooney died after he was punched in the side of the head during a fight between fans of the Patriots and the Miami Dolphins in the stadium's upper deck in Foxborough, Massachusetts onSunday night.

Michael Giangregorio, a relative who organized a GoFundMe campaign for Mooney's family, wrote on the online fundraiser that Mooney "was a loving soul who cared so much for those he loved."

A husband for more than 20 years to his wife, Lisa, Dale was also a "proud father" of two sons, Aaron and Brandon, he wrote.

Dale was "constantly laughing and creating moments with them throughout their lives," Giangregorio wrote.

He went on to describe the football fan as "a hardworking family man from the northeast who loved the New England Patriots" and touted how Dale was a season ticket holder for his beloved team for more than three decades.

"His legacy lives on through Lisa, Brandon and Aaron," Giangregorio wrote. "Thank you for caring about such a loving family."

As of early Wednesday afternoon, the fundraising effort for the Mooney family had surpassed its $15,000 goal.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, John Chase, Jr. said he worked with Dale for years and called him "a great man."

"One of the nicest guys you could ever meet," Chase wrote. "To be killed at a Patriots game is something I could have never seen coming."

Dale had also been hailed as a hero in the past: In July 2009, he was credited with rescuing a young girl caught between the rocks and the surf on New Hampshire's Hampton Beach.

"The waves were slamming over her and she couldn't even stay on her feet," a then 39-year-old Dale recalled to Seacoastonline at the time. "She kept falling in between the rocks, trying to keep her head above water."

Mooney, who stood 6 feet, 3 inches tall, said he had made eye contact with the girl and knew then "couldn't turn back." He was simply in the right place at the right time, he told the outlet.

"There was no way somebody smaller than me could have handled that," he said.

Dale's wife, Lisa, told WCVB earlier this week that the loss of her husband has left her feeling "numb."

"It takes a lot to get him mad," she said. "He has the patience of a saint. I don’t know what happened."

Witnesses at Sunday's game said Dale was in the middle of a verbal altercation between fans of the opposing teams when a fight erupted.

Video shows Mooney approaching the rival fans and then getting into a fracas, during which he is punched in the head. 

Witness Joey Kilmartin told the Boston Globe he saw Mooney approach Dolphins fans and confront them over comments they made.

"A lot of people started trying to pull them apart. ... It looked like somebody was in the middle of them, and then a man in the Dolphins jersey reached over and he connected with two punches to the victim's head,” Kilmartin told the newspaper. “It wasn't something crazy or out of the ordinary until, 30 seconds later, the guy wasn't getting up.”

Authorities said Wednesday initial autopsy results show Mooney suffered from a "medical issue" rather than a "traumatic injury."

Dale's wife has said her husband had no known health issues. It is unclear whether Mooney had alcohol in his system when he died.

The cause and manner of death are still pending, according to the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office. No charges have been announced.