By FireRescue1 Staff
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A veteran firefighter died after a two-year battle with stage four pancreatic cancer last week.
Firefighter Stephen “Shakey” Vanravenswaay, 44, was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 after he suffered stomach pains; he retired a year later and moved with his wife to a farm in Michigan.
“We fulfilled his dream,” Vanravenswaay’s wife, Lisa, told the Orlando Sentinel.
After he was diagnosed, Vanravenswaay had to leave the fire service and undergo treatment. He had no history of family cancer; it is likely he developed the cancer from working as a firefighter. Colleagues covered his shifts and held fundraisers for him.
“If somebody asked me, would you [with] what I know now, would I join the fire department again?” Vanravenswaay told the publication in 2015. “Absolutely.”
Vanravenswaay leaves behind his wife and daughters.
Visitation and memorial services will be held Friday in Michigan. The Orange County Professional Fire Fighters union will hold a memorial service Feb. 18.