Jonathan Daniel Van Keulen

Jonathan Daniel Van Keulen, 31, died April 4, 2016 at his home in Spokane. Jonathan left behind an inspirational legacy that will be carried on by his wife, two young sons and an expansive group of family, friends and acquaintances.

Jonathan was born Oct. 1, 1984, in Moses Lake, Wash. to Dede Hanson and John Van Keulen. He grew up in the Moses Lake and Ephrata areas.

Jonathan and his high school sweetheart, Becky Hendrickson, graduated together from Ephrata High School in 2003. They married on Aug. 7, 2004 in Ephrata, and moved to Pullman where they attended Washington State University. They moved to Spokane in 2005 where he transferred to Eastern Washington University and graduated with a degree in business, and she attended the WSU Spokane Campus and graduated with a degree in architectural design. Their sons Jaxon, 5, and Jude, 4, were born in Spokane. Jonathan began his career as an assistant manager at Starbucks for two years before being hired by Wells Fargo as a retail banker. He moved up quickly at Wells Fargo, and in 2013 was hired as a mortgage banker for Washington Trust Bank.

Jonathan was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, in June 2014. Despite an extensive course of treatment that hospitalized him for weeks at a time, Jonathan, with Becky’s help, founded Cancer Can’t, a non-profit organization that supports cancer patients in the Inland Northwest. Since 2015, Cancer Can’t has raised more than $150,000. The foundation has funded extensive upgrades to Spokane’s Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in-patient oncology rooms and supported Jonathan’s development of legislation to create a charitable pharmacy program which will provide patients better access to needed medication in Washington State. Through Jonathan and Becky’s efforts, House Bill #2458 was signed into law on March 29, 2016 by Gov. Jay Inslee. Jonathan is the first honorary board member at the Providence Health Care Foundation.

Jonathan’s greatest passion was playing with his boys, traveling with his wife, and spending his down-time at Priest Lake with family and friends. He also loved playing golf and watching sports (go Cougs!), and was a human encyclopedia of random sports facts. Over the past several months, he was joined by close family and friends in achieving a bucket list of experiences, including playing a round of golf at Pebble Beach, cheering the Seahawks on from front-row seats at CenturyLink Field, sitting on a beach in Hawaii watching his boys play in the ocean, and laughing through a Jimmy Fallon Show in New York City.

Jonathan loved to make people laugh. He had a quick-witted sense of humor and relentlessly teased those he loved the most.

Jonathan’s greatest accomplishment is the example he and Becky set for their children in the midst of significant personal challenge. Though hospitalized and hooked to intravenous tubes and electronic monitors, Jonathan took every opportunity to laugh and share quiet moments with Becky, and to pull the boys into his lap to read stories of superheroes, construct galactic Lego vehicles, and giggle at silly jokes. He always made time for friends and family and lifted their spirits with his humor, courage, strength and grace. He will be greatly missed by many and never forgotten.

Jon is survived by his wife, Becky Van Keulen and sons Jaxon Van Keulen and Jude Van Keulen of Spokane, Wash.; his parents Dede (Don) Hazzard of Lacey, Wash. and John (Janet) Van Keulen of Moses Lake, Wash.; sisters Kristine (Ivan) Medyanik of Salem, Ore., Samantha (Jake) Aguillard of Yelm, Wash. and Brittni Hazzard of Lacey, Wash.; a brother, Cory Haynes, of Seattle, Wash.; grandparents Donna Van Keulen, Marv and Irene Scott and Joe and Jan Thornton, all of Moses Lake, Wash.; his mother and father “in-love” Randy and Virginia Hendrickson of Ephrata, Wash.; his best friend and work partner, Scott Rudy of Spokane, Wash., and many, many brothers- and sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Lawrence Van Keulen, Ramona Van Keulen, Mary Hoy and Don Hanson.

A memorial to celebrate Jonathan’s life is scheduled for Saturday, April 16 at Life Center Church, 1202 N. Government Way, in Spokane, at 5 p.m. In his memory, donations can be made in lieu of flowers to Cancer Can’t online at www.cancercant.com or mailed to Cancer Can’t, 1614 Canyon Woods Ln., Spokane, WA 99224.