On March 9, 2016, Wilde Lake lost a beloved member of the community, when Jon Dzuray, described by his friends as having an amazing sense of humor and extraordinary overall positive attitude, passed away after battling cancer.

Jon was first diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia when he was two years old. He became cancer free around age four but was diagnosed with cancer again in seventh grade in the form of Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor.

“He was one of my closest friends from when I was young,” said Ethan Lee. “I saw him over the summer right after he found out that his cancer had come back, and he was still the happiest person I knew.”

In seventh grade, Jon’s friends and a local leadership group planned a fun-run 2K event and fundraiser for Jon and his family, with the slogan “2K, 1 Goal, 0 Cancer.” The money that was collected was donated to help fund research for the type of cancer Jon had.

Jon’s sister, Hadley Dzuray, made orange bracelets during Jon’s middle school years to spread awareness and allow people to show support for him during these hard times.

Hugh Fraser was inspired by Jon’s positivity throughout his struggle to create a video tribute. “After his funeral, I decided to make a tribute to him in the form of a Michael Jackson cover of Gone Too Soon. The lyrics reflect him in how he was a bright individual and then he was gone much too soon,” said Hugh.
“Jon and I knew each other well. Our families would go camping together over Labor Day, and we grew up together,” said Beth Virostek. “He was one of the funniest people I have ever known. He always had a smile on his face and would always cheer you up with a joke or a smile.”

Jon’s positivity and humor even in the face of adversity made an impact on all who were around him. “He was one of the greatest people I’ve ever met,” said Calvin Tuttle. “He was always upbeat and he always had a great attitude towards everything. He was fun-loving and made jokes about everything.”

Jon’s good nature and courage inspires many at Wilde Lake, and will continue to do so long into the future. “Jon really set an example of what I want to be like through his leadership and sense of humor,” said Noah Sutker. “We all really miss him.”