Family turns mourning into hope

Still in the deepest fog of grief, Jill Sahlstrom sat in her rustic living room and vowed to find purpose in loss.

“His legacy can live on,” the Snohomish mother said of her 17-year-old son Jon.

That was less than a year ago, shortly after Jonathan Sahlstrom’s death from leukemia. Jill and Ken Sahlstrom and their two other children still mourn for the boy who loved airplanes, took advanced placement classes and dreamed of becoming a pilot or a doctor.

Sadness hasn’t kept them from putting words into action.

In an award ceremony last week at Snohomish High School, senior Ashley Hanson became the first recipient of the Jon Sahlstrom Memorial Scholarship. She’ll receive $1,000 this year and another $1,000 annually for three more years as she pursues a nursing career.

The Sahlstroms established the scholarship for students in medical fields to honor Jon’s interest in pediatrics. Ashley was selected after writing an essay about her goals, which include living at home with her mother, Karen Hanson, to save money.

She’ll start this fall at Everett Community College, taking nursing prerequisites. Her top choice would be to continue at the University of Washington. “I do have a backup, the WSU nursing program,” said the 17-year-old. She has two aunts in nursing and a 3.24 grade point average.

Ashley works at the Everett Mall Sears store and said anatomy is among her favorite subjects. She’d seen Jon in a biology class, but didn’t get to know him.

Ultimately, she said, “I really want to work at Children’s Hospital.” Earlier in her teens, she was a patient at the Seattle hospital when she underwent tests for a suspected heart condition.

It’s a place the Sahlstroms came to know well.

Jon died of acute lymphoblastic leukemia Sept. 23, 2006, at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center. He was there for much of a year after being diagnosed in 2004, and was a frequent patient during almost three years of maintenance chemotherapy.

“He had wanted to be a pediatrician until he was about 11, and then it wasn’t as cool,” Jill Sahlstrom said. He later hoped to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy and learn to fly. As his illness progressed, he talked again about medicine.

“He could relate to the kids in the hospital,” she said.

Money for Ashley came mostly from donations to the scholarship fund after Jon’s death. With an eye on the future, the family wants to build the fund to $100,000. They’re in the process of obtaining nonprofit status, and will play host to a fund-raising dinner auction June 15 at Everett’s Monte Cristo Ballroom.

Ashley will be there, along with Dr. Tracy Hentz, “Jon’s favorite pediatrician,” Jill Sahlstrom said. Port Townsend jazz singer Jenny Davis, who is Jill’s sister, will perform at the event.

It’s been a hard spring for the Sahlstroms. Although he’d spent much of his time with a tutor, Jon was a senior at Snohomish High. When his classmates graduate Wednesday, he’ll be recognized with an honorary diploma, Snohomish School District spokeswoman Shannon Parthemer said.

“When you lose somebody, you grieve for that classmate who should be there but isn’t,” said Dennis Wick, a member of the school board in Snohomish. Wick will serve as auctioneer at the scholarship fundraiser.

Jill Sahlstrom met Ashley at last week’s award ceremony. “That was really special to us, to see the good that would come out of this,” she said.

She also attended a graduation tea as a guest of Josh Fairbanks, a friend of Jon’s since their little-boy sleepover days.

“It was bittersweet,” she said.

Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com.

Scholarship

fundraiser

A Jon Sahlstrom Memorial Scholarship dinner auction is planned for 5:30 to 11:30 p.m. June 15 at the Monte Cristo Ballroom, 1507 Wall St., Everett. Tickets, at the door, are $30 for adults, $20 for students and senior citizens. Dinner will be served from 6 to 7 p.m., and jazz singer Jenny Davis will perform. The scholarship benefits students pursuing health careers.