On July 9, 2013, our friend Tom Ziarko lost his battle with Stage IV metastatic melanoma, and everyone that knew Tom lost a huge part of themselves. Tom had been fighting hard against his cancer, and his girlfriend Colleen had been leading the charge to raise money in order to help pay Tom’s medical bills and lift his spirits.
Part of that effort was to assemble a team, Truckin’ it for Tom, to take part in the 2013 Miles for Melanoma Teb’s Troops 5K Run/Walk at Montrose Harbor. Over the course of a few weeks, the team grew to 82 members, and raised nearly $7,000 to help fund melanoma research. Despite losing Tom that very week, everyone knew how crucial the walk was; one donation, one drug trial, one checkup, could make the difference for the next person.
So we walked.
Such a sad day, Tom, now that you’re no longer with us… Just as Colleen is family, so are you, and none of us will ever forget the light that you brought into each of our lives.
Rest easy, my friend.