Jon’s sister, Kim, posted the following funeral arrangements on her FB page tonight:
“Thank you for all the prayers and condolences. We are going to need them through this time. For any who are interested, Jon’s wake and funeral will be held in our hometown, Warwick NY. The wake is on Friday the 21st at 2-4 PM and 7-9 PM at Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat Memorial Home. The funeral is on Saturday the 22nd at 10:30 AM at the parish of St. Stephen the First Martyr.”
We are still taking a collection for Jon’s funeral expenses. The cost associated with flying the remains of a beloved one home are quite substantial, on top of the normally substantial expense of a funeral. The community responded so generously with Kortney and Sophy’s funeral expenses, covering them all. Please rally to Jon’s family and do the same. Donations (all of which are tax-deductible, and 100% of which will be given to the family) may be made by clicking here:
https://jon.sagefundraisingonline.com/3
A few thoughts as we get ready for this weekend.
Jon wasn’t typical of most men his age. For one thing, he was a man. A real man. Not in some pseudo-masculine macho sense of the term, but in the truest sense of masculinity.
He was principled, and all in the pursuit of virtue. He had unusual strength of conviction, all aligned along the axis of moral clarity. Such clarity only comes in self-giving and not in self-assertion. It comes through self-discipline, of subordinating one’s appetites to a vision of the other as worthy of our best and not as an object for our consumption. It’s the stuff of which the more cynical among us who have only ever known being used cannot believe exists in reality.
But it does, and in a world of virtual reality, Jon was the real deal. Jon proved that a virtue-driven life was not only possible, but also attainable.
It takes guts to stand up to the Culture of Death at so young an age, to be defiant in the face of hell’s angels. It takes a real man to stand for the most defenseless among us in the midst of his peers in a hook-up culture, and not count the personal cost of going against the grain, all without being loud and abrasive.
Where do such people come from, many ask? They aren’t born. They’re made.
They’re made by mothers and fathers who empty themselves, pouring out their lives for the sake of their children’s growth in mind, body and soul. That’s where the selflessness and principle are learned. That’s where the love of God and neighbor are modeled.
I’ve never met Jon’s parents. I’ve never spoken to them, but I know them well. They raised me and my siblings, my cousins and friends. They’re the backbone of the Church.
Never on this blog have I asked for money, for me or for any organization with whom I am affiliated, until this tragedy. Again, people’s generosity paid for the Christian burial of Kortney and Sophy, and again, I ask that we all honor the Scharfenberger family who gave to the Church and the pro-life movement so precious a gift as their son, Jon. As we offer whatever money we are able, let us be lavish in our prayers for this beautiful family in their deepest sorrow.
Again, the link:
https://jon.sagefundraisingonline.com/3
God Bless.
[…] that, I’m beyond words. More tomorrow. UPDATE: FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE…Click HERE. Share this:ShareTwitterFacebookLinkedInEmailLike this:LikeBe the first to like this […]
Jon WAS a very good man and a good friend. I will miss him very much. Every day for work, I walk by the window where he used to sit and work on the Pro Life banquet or other projects for SFL at AMU, where he’d make faces at me or make fun of me from. It saddens me beyond belief to know that I will not see that goofy smile again in this life.
In the original articles in the Macon newspaper, only Kortney and the other driver were listed as victims. Yesterday, when reporting Jon’s death, the newspaper also listed Sophy (they did not name her, but they did include her) as a victim of this terrible tragedy. I truly believe that this is a testament to Jon’s work and proof that even his death will not stop his fight for the unborn in this world.
He and Kortney will be guiding this movement from Heaven.
Jon, I was blessed to have known you. Rest in peace, my beautiful friend.
Jon graduated from Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, New Jersey, a private Catholic school run by the Salesians of Don Bosco. I also graduated from “the Prep,” 41 years earlier than Jon. When I met Jon here in Ave Maria and learned he was a fellow alumnus, I immediately felt a sense of kinship with him. Our paths crossed several times, as the Ave Maria Oratory Respect Life Committee, the Ave Maria Oratory Council Knights of Columbus, and the AMU Students for Life (which Jon headed during his senior year) occasionally cooperated in joint activities. I had the pleasure of meeting Jon’s parents after his graduation last May, when he introduced me to them. I like to believe that Jon and I both benefitted from the excellent education we received at Don Bosco, and Jon went on to built on that education here at Ave Maria. But for the strength of his convictions, he can take sole credit. I am sure he is now where he can have a positive spiritual influence on those he left behind.
Jon graduated from Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, New Jersey, a private Catholic school run by the Salesians of Don Bosco. I also graduated from “the Prep,” 41 years earlier than Jon. When I met Jon here in Ave Maria and learned he was a fellow alumnus, I immediately felt a sense of kinship with him. Our paths crossed several times, as the Ave Maria Oratory Respect Life Committee, the Ave Maria Oratory Council Knights of Columbus, and the AMU Students for Life (which Jon headed during his senior year) occasionally cooperated in joint activities. I had the pleasure of meeting Jon’s parents after his graduation last May, when he introduced me to them. I like to believe that Jon and I both benefitted from the excellent education we received at Don Bosco, and Jon went on to built on that education here at Ave Maria. But for the strength of his convictions, he can take sole credit. I am sure he is now where he can have a positive spiritual influence on those he left behind.
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