Teen who battled leukemia recalled as brilliant student

On the soccer field, he was a great goalie. As a student, he was brilliant. With friends, Jonathan Sahlstrom was one of the guys.

“He was so funny, so wonderful. Everybody loved Jon,” said Alisa Myers, a Snohomish High School teacher.

Myers worked with Jonathan as a tutor as the teen battled acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Last month, complications of the disease he learned he had in 2004 claimed his life.

Jonathan Trepp Sahlstrom died Sept. 23 at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle. He was 17.

Born May 23, 1989, Jonathan is survived by his parents, Ken and Jill Sahlstrom, of Snohomish; his 19-year-old sister, Brooke; his brother, Matthew, 15; grandmothers Sylvia Trepp and Nelda Sahlstrom; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Ken Sahlstrom is an officer with the Monroe Police Department.

In June, he and Jon sailed in the Leukemia Cup Regatta, a fundraising event on Seattle’s Elliott Bay, along with two other Monroe policemen whose children had cancer.

Also in June, the Sahlstrom family went on a trip provided by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They attended the U.S. vs. Ghana World Cup soccer game in Nuremberg, Germany.

“He felt well, and spent every day hiking,” said Jill Sahlstrom. Jon also traveled to Switzerland, Italy and Liechtenstein.

In the hilltop home his parents built near Machias, Jill Sahlstrom talked Thursday about her boy’s tenacity and his faith. From earliest childhood, Jon was raised on Bible stories and family devotions. He was involved with the Snohomish First Presbyterian Church youth group.

Jill Sahlstrom said her son was upbeat throughout his illness. He had an initial year of intensive treatment and was on maintenance chemotherapy nearly three years before suffering a relapse.

Although he missed school his sophomore year and went part-time in his junior year, he had an A average and took Advanced Placement classes in history and biology. He would have been a Snohomish High senior this year.

“He wanted to go to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado,” Jill Sahlstrom said. His aspirations included becoming a pilot and a doctor.

“He had an amazing mind,” Myers said. “Pretty much, it was Jon and a book. He was amazingly intelligent, and probably could have gone to a very prestigious university.” The teacher said her pupil was also “super positive, even when he was sick.”

Bob Berntson was Jonathan’s soccer coach and the father of one of his best friends, Joel Berntson. Jon had played since he was small with the Snohomish Youth Soccer Association.

“He was a great goalkeeper,” Berntson said. “He was funny and considerate and very respectful. And he was smart – not just book-smart. You could have an adult conversation with him.”

Jody Berntson, the coach’s wife, said Jonathan spent so much time with her family, he was like a member of the household. “What can I say? He was with us pretty much every weekend during soccer season.”

Although soy milk is the drink of choice in the Berntson house, she’d stop for real milk when she knew Jon would be there. “He’d also pretty much monopolize the TV if the Sonics, Seahawks or Mariners were on,” Jody Berntson said.

“He’d be mischievous with his brother and wrestle on the floor. But he was always one of those angels from God,” Jill Sahlstrom said.

Jill said that at her son’s memorial service, the mother of another friend, Josh Fairbanks, told how the boys had a sleepover when they were little.

Nancy Fairbanks, she said, thought the kids were being too quiet. When she went to check on them, “they were reading the encyclopedia,” Jill Sahlstrom said.

The family has established a Jonathan Sahlstrom Scholarship Fund, through Snohomish First Presbyterian Church, to help pay expenses for pediatric medical students.

“His legacy can live on,” Jill Sahlstrom said. “He can continue to make a positive difference in the world.”

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

Marrow registry

The Snohomish First Presbyterian Church will hold a bone marrow registry and blood drive from 2 to 8 p.m. Monday in honor of Jonathan Sahlstrom.

Bone marrow registry costs $25. The church is at 1306 Lakeview Ave. in Snohomish. Information: 360-568-6498.