As Casa Grande High graduates, a fellow classmate is remembered

When Casa Grande High School graduates walk across the stage May 31, they will be joined by a spirit every bit as bright and as real as their own hopes and dreams.

CJ Banaszek will be there with his classmates as surely as he was there smiling with them at Meadow School in health and through his many months of hospitalization, operations, bone marrow transplants and chemotherapy.

He will be there as surely as he was leading the Casa Grande High School football team on the field or inspiring his sister’s Casa Grande volleyball team.

CJ lost his 2-year battle with myelogenous leukemia, a form of the cancer that is rare in young people, in 2014 at the age of 13, but his courage and spirit in the face of his affliction inspired the entire community. His family will not be at the ceremonies.

“That would be too hard,” said Heather Banaszek, his mother. “We think the world of his classmates, but it would be too hard for us.”

The family has bravely and publicly faced the battle and ultimate loss of their son, hoping they can bring awareness to childhood leukemia. Heather works for Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a non-profit organization that raises funds to help victims and aid research.

The family - Heather, father Caz and sister Gabby - will be leaving Petaluma at the end of the summer as Caz takes a new job in Kansas City.

“It feels like a good time,” Heather said.

Melissa Becker, CJ’s elementary school principal at Meadow School, described him as determined, dedicated, clever, easy going, optimistic, unselfish and sincere.

“It is hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact he would have been graduating this year,” Becker said. “I’m sure he would have been graduating at the top of his class.

She recalled how, before he became gravely ill, she worked with CJ to create the CJ Award to be given annually to a Meadow student that exemplified those characteristics. The first recipient was CJ Banaszek.

After CJ became too ill to physically attend school, he remained part of his class, joining his schoolmates via a computer hook-up between the school and his home. Becker stressed that it wasn’t only CJ, but his entire family that inspired the Meadow School community.

“Every morning, I watched CJ and his mom hold hands as she walked him to his class,” Becker said. “That’s the kind of connection every mother wants with their child. His sister, Gabby, always supported and loved him. She is also a phenomenal person who is going to change the world for good in so many ways.”

CJ’s grandfather, also named Caz, is a former professional football player who volunteered to teach physical education at Meadow.

“The Banaszek family is an incredible part of the Meadow family,” Becker said.

Kevin Cadle, who will graduate in less than two weeks, first became friends with CJ in first grade at Meadow School.

“CJ and I grew to be close friends, and, as we became older we discovered we had common interests,” Cadle said. “I will always remember playing basketball on the courts with the tallest guy in school.”

He said CJ still inspires him.

“Every day CJ was battling cancer, he inspired me,” he said. “I consider him to be one of the strongest and most determined people I have ever met. He inspired me to fight for what I want in life and never give up, even when I am tired and want to quit. For CJ, there was no quit.”

Cadle said CJ will definitely be missed at the graduation ceremony.

“As I prepare to walk across the stage, I want more than anything for CJ to be walking with the rest of us,” he said. “The Meadow Class of 2013 are all graduating with CJ in our hearts.”

For his senior project, Cadle created a Relay for Life team called CJ Strong in his honor to unite the community and remind CJ’s family how the community admired his fight and the person he was.

“To be graduating in the same year CJ would have is an honor in itself, and I envision him watching over all of us as we walk,” he said. “He is still very much a leading image of the Meadow Elementary School Class of 2013 and Casa Grande Class of 2019.”

As the Banaszek family prepares to move, Heather has a final project to benefit Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a “Passport to a Cure” event Aug. 3 at Sova Gardens in Sebastopol. The gala event will include food from local chefs, local wines and hand-crafted beers. There will also be auction items and dancing.

All proceeds will go to Alex’s Lemonade Stand, and its effort to combat childhood leukemia. For tickets or more information, contact Heather Banaszek at 479-0234 or H.Banaszek@ALexLemonade.org.