Dal Bon Memorial
Dal Bon Memorial Golf Tournament
by
Brad Dal Bon
I lost both of my parents to pancreatic cancer! My
mom, Merrilee Dal Bon, passed away on November 10, 2000 and my dad, Jim Dal
Bon, on May 6, 2008. I have felt a real need to do something in their memory because
I alone cannot cure cancer. Therefore, I was thinking that giving money for
research to cure pancreatic cancer would be a good cause. I found the Hirshberg Foundation and was
pleased that their mission to fund research and find an early detection method,
and ultimately, a cure was the same as mine!
Seeing both of
my parents suffer through their battle with the cancer was tremendously
difficult. Among the emotions I still feel is anger. I am angry
this was happening to them. I am angry that my two sons, Owen, 9, and
Matthew, 7, will not get to know their grandparents better. What I am
most angry about is the cancer.
I thought, “What can I do now?” Pancreatic cancer did not waste any time
debilitating my parents. I came up with the idea of
organizing the Dal Bon Memorial Golf Tournament as a way to pay tribute to my
parents and to help battle pancreatic cancer. Last year’s first annual golf tournament
kicked off at Alta Sierra Country Club in Grass Valley, CA. Sixty golfers teed off that day and the
evening concluded with a donation of over $6,000 to the Hirshberg
Foundation.
So, I am fighting back, and I would like you to fight with me. The
Dal Bon Memorial Golf Tournament’s main goal is to raise funds for pancreatic
cancer research. In recent years my dad had started to really
enjoy golf. We had a lot of great times
together on the golf course. I feel I
owe it to my parents to fight against the disease that took their lives, but
have fun as well.
