Seven months after being diagnosed with leukemia, Sarah
Jakielski, a student at Pope John Paul the Great High School
in Dumfries, passed away last Tuesday. She was 15 years old.
Jakielski is survived by her parents, Jake and Mary, and her
younger sister, Rachel. She was a parishioner of Our Lady of
Angels Parish in Woodbridge. Prior to attending John Paul the
Great, she was a student at St. Thomas Aquinas Regional
School in Woodbridge.
Jakielski was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia May 4. In
the months that followed, she received treatment at John
Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and kept up with her schoolwork
using Skype.
After learning of her diagnosis last spring, the John Paul
the Great community rallied around Jakielski and her family
with prayers and support. Following her death, the school
community joined together in prayer. To honor Sarah, students
have been wearing orange, the color of leukemia awareness, in
the form of ribbons and accessories. Special wristbands
inscribed “SJ/JS” have been made to honor Jakielski, as well
as Jack Sarchet, the 2-year-old son of football coach Jerry
Sarchet who is also battling leukemia.
On Friday night, the school hosted an “Orange Out” during
their home basketball game, during which students were
encouraged to wear orange in Jakielski’s honor. Students also
have signed banners for Jakielski and her family, offering
words of condolence and spiritual bouquets.
Jakielski was described by her friends as outgoing, energetic
and kind. Father Matthew Zuberbueler, school chaplain, said
he will remember and cherish his time getting to know her
during hospital visits.
“I always found her upbeat and ready with wit and laughter,
even in the midst of the chemo treatments. She had an offbeat
sense of humor and it always lifted my spirits – even about
her situation – to visit her,” he said. “She readily
interacted with others and made friends with those around
her. A joyful and accepting spirit was constant throughout
this ordeal and was for her parents and for those around her
a source of strength and inspiration.”
Father Zuberbuler said he takes comfort in the way Jakielski
held onto her faith in her final days.
“The one thing I constantly asked of her was to offer her
illness to God through the hands of her Blessed Mother. I
know she did that,” he said. “The students at John Paul the
Great have been very responsive in prayer and conversation to
the reality our faith teaches that, having died receiving the
sacraments and in the blessings of the Church, we can be
confident that she has gone now to be with our good and
gracious God. We know that she remains a part of our lives by
the mystery of the communion of saints.”
The funeral Mass for Jakielski was offered Dec. 20 at Our
Lady of Angels. Burial followed at Quantico, with a reception
at John Paul the Great High School in Dumfries.
Condolences for the Jakielski family may be sent care of John
Paul the Great High School, 17700 Dominican Dr., Dumfries, VA
22026. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in
Jakielski’s name to Believe in Tomorrow, P.O. Box 21243,
Baltimore, MD, 21228 or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society,
lls.org.
