Duxbury knew the boy who built forts and rode his bike around town, who was a standout high school track star. His fellow soldiers knew the lieutenant who led them to the battlefields of Kandahar, who would have followed him to the ends of the earth, who followed him to the end of his life. Meaghan Steele knew another man. She remembers a husband who was “goofy” and would grab her round her tiny waist and dance her around their kitchen.

“He never stopped moving…” said Meaghan Steele as she recalled her husband while watching their equally active daughter, Liberty, 2, scoot around Ellison Playground. “And I never stopped smiling.”

Meaghan and Liberty are in town to thank the people of Duxbury for the overwhelming support given to their family following 1st Lt. Timothy Steele’s death from a roadside bomb in Afghanistan last August 23. Lt. Steele, 25, was a resident of Standish Street and is one of eight children of John and Mary Ellen Steele. He was a 2004 graduate of Duxbury High School and a 2009 graduate of West Point. Lt. Steele served with the 10th Mountain Division, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Combat Brigade Team, based out of Fort Drum, New York. Meaghan and Liberty make their home there, near the base and their extended military family.

The recently-incorporated Duxbury Knights of Columbus dedicated this past Saturday to Lt. Steele and his memory by hosting all day events including a 5K road race, golf tournament and banquet, the proceeds of which will go to Lt. Steele’s family.

For Meaghan, it’s one more overwhelmingly beautiful gesture from a town still grieving a lost son. She said it helps to know others share her grief and admiration for Tim.

“It’s been kind of surreal at times,” said Meaghan of the past nine months. “I’ve read every card, felt every prayer. People recognizing his sacrifice, it’s helped a lot. I think it’s important people remember his name, not because he died, but because of how he lived.”

Initially she tried to respond to the cards, but there were too many and sometimes it was too hard. What she did do was save every letter and every article for Liberty. Many of the cards moved her deeply and revealed another side of her husband, one she’s grateful to know and to pass along to their daughter.

“I’ve always felt like he was my hero from day one,” said Meaghan. “My relationship with him was as a husband and father to Liberty, but he was completely humble, too. He shared a little bit (of what he did), but to hear about it from people who’ve known him and were extremely impressed with him, I’m so impressed too.”

They met in March 2006 when Steele, then a sophomore at West Point, travelled to Meaghan’s home state of Louisiana to volunteer after Hurricane Katrina.

“I was feeding the volunteers and his friend bet him he wouldn’t talk to me,” said Meghan, laughing at the memory. “Here was this guy, spending his spring break helping people he had never met. He was different. We got married in 2009, right after his graduation.”

In an effort to show the community how much she appreciates all of its efforts on behalf of her family – everything from high school kids raking Tim’s parents’ yard to the many fundraisers -- Meaghan decided to run the 5K, though she’s never exercised a day in her life. She said she’s doing it because Tim loved running and she wanted to do something he loved, and to demonstrate her appreciation to Duxbury.

“The Knights of Columbus have been really good at keeping us informed and involved,” said Meaghan, as Liberty ran her own route around the playground. “It didn’t occur to me to run before this, but then I thought about it and I know this is some feat to do this, put on by volunteers. I wanted to do my part.”

She said the first time she came to understand Duxbury, a place she had visited but didn’t really know, was soon after that fateful August day. That’s when she learned Ling Wong and Jean Waltz had set up a fund in her husband’s name to benefit her family. According to Ling, the fund has raised nearly $80,000 so far.

“I think in the days following, I caught wind of it,” said Meaghan, “but I didn’t know what it was and then it went viral. I sat back and thought, wow, this is incredible. It’s been overwhelming. It’s a comfort to know he won’t be forgotten.”

Meaghan, of course, will never forget either the pain of losing her husband to a war an ocean and a desert away, or the love that’s surrounded her since. On the days when the grief is too much, she looks to Liberty Hope for inspiration. It’s easy to do. A stunning toddler, Liberty is vivacious and friendly, and speaks confidently to everyone she meets.

“She doesn’t let me get down for long,” said Meaghan, smiling at her daughter who beams back. “I tell her it makes me feel better to cry, but with her, you can’t be down for too long.”

It’s that resilience, that inner strength Meaghan will use to honor her hero, Lt. Steele, and the many families who’ve sacrificed their lives to war. Meaghan plans to return to school and earn a masters degree in counseling to help those who’ve suffered losses similar to hers.

She also hopes the people of Duxbury know how very much she appreciates every card, every prayer, every effort to honor those lost to war.

“I just want to say thank you, but I don’t know how many ways there are to say it,” said Meaghan. “Thank you.”