What Steven Rough wanted most in life was to be a good father and husband, according to fiance Ariel Berry.

The two had been together, she said, since the summer of 2011 and became engaged to be married two years ago on Valentine’s Day.

They have a 2-year-old son, Logan.

All of these things, she said, make it so difficult to believe he is gone.

“I can’t accept it still, honestly,” Berry said. “He was a family man. He told me God put him on this Earth to be a husband and a dad because he wanted a family. That is all he wanted.”

Rough, 26, died over the weekend. His body was found inside a vehicle Sunday in a creek off the St. Joseph River near the intersection of Bond and Beeson Roads in Niles Township. The body of Autumn Mehl was also in the vehicle.

Although it remains under investigation, police believe the vehicle went off the road and into the creek some time Saturday morning. The two were last scene leaving Jay’s Lounge in Niles early Saturday morning, according to police.

“He was just talking to me right before he went out, which is hard,” she said. “I was so scared and praying it wasn’t him when they found the car. I was worried for Logan and why this had to happen to him (Rough).”

Rough graduated from Buchanan High School in 2008 where he was a multiple sport athlete, playing baseball and soccer.

Berry said he loved rooting for the University of Michigan football team, while she cheered for rival Notre Dame.

“We always went back and forth on that,” she said.

Rough worked at Home Acres Building Supply.

Berry said family and friends would remember Rough as a kind hearted and caring person.

“He always tried to brighten your day no matter what,” she said. “Whenever I was down he was always there to lift me back up.”

“We will both miss him so much.”