Jacob Gordon knows what it means to persevere.
The 14-year-old hunter and hockey player has seen it first hand. His step-mother, Sheryl Sadorski-Gordon, persevered three years against cervical and ovarian cancer before passing away last year. Despite her illness, she remained a pillar of Prince Rupert’s Relay for Life.
It’s that spirit of determination Gordon wants to carry forward for years to come.
“I’ll probably walk until I can’t walk anymore,” he said.
Gordon first participated in the Relay for Life three years ago with Sadorski-Gordon and her team. Three years later, he’s joined his mother, Lindsay Barton, in carrying on Sadorski-Gordon’s legacy. Together, they’re organizing an evening of desserts and auctions at the Crest Hotel as a fundraiser to support a Relay for Life team walking in her memory.
READ MORE: Organizers and teammates relay for Sheryl
Barton said Sadorski-Gordon’s three years of activism with Relay for Life were team efforts. After last year’s event, she asked Barton and Gordon to keep the team going after her death. They have had lots of support.
“Prince Rupert is an amazing community for supporting this cause,” said Barton. “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”
Last year, members of Gordon’s hockey team and other friends joined him in the relay, and he anticipates they will this year as well. That’s in addition to the 20-plus person team he’s helped Barton organize in legacy to Sadorski-Gordon: White and Teal, Women of Steel.
READ MORE: Emily Gordon, for family … for a cure
“We’ll make this auction good,” said Barton. “That’s her legacy. If there’s one thing that she ever taught us, it’s you keep fighting. You’re better than what you think you are. The auction is a lot of work, and a lot of stress for us, but we rise up.”
“It’s a hard time now,” said Barton. “She was still with us last year at the auction. We’re getting ready to do something for Sheryl. We haven’t yet, and it’s getting close to a year. It’s all pretty touchy of a subject, and fresh, and flooding back.”
Despite the difficulties, Gordon hopes his work can help others struggling with the disease.
“Cancer sucks,” he said.
“Doing the relay will really help stop so many families from having to go through it.”
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