Sutter family honors brother with 5K/10K

Jeff Larson, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·2 min read

Oct. 26—Whitney Gonzalez said after any tragedy it's important to stay close to family during the grief process because everyone grieves a little different.

After Gonzalez's younger brother, Zach Furr, passed away from brain cancer on Oct. 16, 2020, she remained quiet for a while before coming up with an idea to memorialize the 2012 Sutter Union High School graduate.

Gonzalez created the Zach Furr Memorial Race that took place for the first time on Saturday at Sutter Union. It was a 5K/10K where all proceeds would go to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, where Furr was treated from September 2018 to April 2019 when his cancer first went into remission. However, the tumor came back in April of last year and Furr went through surgery to remove it.

Furr eventually succumbed to cancer last October.

It wasn't for lack of treatment, Gonzalez said.

"He received tremendous care," she said. "I do not have enough good things to say about that hospital which is why we wanted to do this."

Fast forward to Oct. 23, 2021 — exactly a year and a week after Furr's death — and Gonzalez and the family returned to Furr's old stomping grounds, to honor their baby brother.

Gonzalez said a run through Sutter Union would have the greatest impact.

"There are people that come from everywhere to do runs and there are a lot of runners in our community between Sutter and Yuba City," Gonzalez said. "We figured we'd have more of an impact."

A few of Furr's childhood friends made the trip, including his best friend, Devin McConnell, who captured the run with his camera.

McConnell said while he and Furr took different paths after graduation, he remained close with his former Husky buddy through various online platforms.

"We remained good friends," he said.

McConnell said Furr will be remembered as a "hard-working dude."

There is also a member of Furr's family who modified her daily routine after her brother died.

"I have tried to live a little more like him," said Lyndsey Quinn, one of Furr's sisters. "I try to look at life a little more through his eyes."

As the Furr family knows firsthand, life can be fleeting, so it's important to keep the faith and know that everyone will be together again some day.

"I know I am going to see him again," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez plans to make the run an annual event held every October.

"It's the beginning," she said.

Gonzalez said a total 105 people registered for the inaugural race, raising $8,500 for the hospital.