SW grad leaves a legacy in the sunset

Erin James

Nov. 8, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- The word was neither accidental nor intentional.

But the tone of her voice said she meant it -- even if she didn't realize she'd said it.

"He lives for the beach," Allison said.

Without missing a beat, Allison returned to using the past tense when referring to her late husband. She recalled the day Zack said he would never really be gone. He would be in every sunset, he assured her.

Maybe "lives" was the right word after all.

Allison's lips do not quiver as she talks about her high school sweetheart, the boy who later became her husband. She remembers sobbing as it happened, but Allison does not cry when she recounts the day Zack told her he was ready to die.

In fact, Allison giggles through many of the stories she tells. She -- a widow at barely 30 years old -- appears content almost four years after Zack succumbed to brain cancer.

He wouldn't want her to dwell on the past, she said. He would want her to live in the present.

"I learned from Zack that time is short," Allison said.

Zack Topper died on Jan. 13, 2006, at age 30 -- nine years after doctors first discovered a tumor growing on his brain.

The South Western High School football star left behind a young wife, a mother, father, brother, step-father, father-, mother- and sister-in-law -- and lots of friends and former teammates.

Before he died, Zack did two things to guarantee that his memory would endure.

First, he wrote a book titled "It Doesn't Take A Brain Surgeon to Figure Out: Take Life One Day at a Time." Written from a collection of journal entries, the book details Zack's experience with cancer and the life lessons he gained from it. His family calls it the "Zen of Zack."

The final lesson in Zack's book is as follows: "Win the battle: Leave a lasting legacy."

That's where the second of Zack's final tasks comes in. Before he died, Zack left Allison with an assignment.

He asked her to build a park where patients and their families

could go to escape the walls of Hershey Medical Center, a hospital where Zack and his family spent significant time during the last years and months of his life.

And he wanted it to be in a place where those seeking solace could view a perfect sunset.

Nearly four years later, Allison has fulfilled her promise.

"I've been at peace for a while, but never fully at peace because my task wasn't finished," she said. "(Now) I don't feel like there's anything undone."

The park sits adjacent to a portion of the 13-mile Jonathan Eshenour Memorial Trail in Derry Township, down the hill from another spot where Zack spent many of his final hours just being.

On a rainy Saturday in October, friends and family members gathered there to officially dedicate the Sunset Memorial. Allison cut the ribbon and gave a speech.

She said:

"What a magnificent resting place to honor a life very well lived. Today, we come together in love. And where there is love, there is life."

Leaving a Legacy

In one afternoon on the football field, Zack Topper's life changed forever.

A junior at Shippensburg University and a linebacker on the school's football team, Zack did what Zack always did best on the field. He made a tackle -- one that knocked the opposing team back behind the line of scrimmage.

In making it to his feet, Zack realized he was numb on several parts of his body. The numbness prompted a trip to the doctor, which in turn prompted an MRI.

Then, at age 21, Zack was diagnosed with brain cancer. Doctors gave him five years to live.

But Zack lived almost a decade, having survived several risky surgeries and the recoveries that followed.

In the meantime, life went on. Zack graduated from college. He married his longtime girlfriend, Allison Ahrens.

And he remained largely the same hardworking, outgoing person he had always been. But, like his wife and his mother, Zack was also guilty of lacking patience. He rarely took a break. His life operated at a speed too fast for him to slow down and appreciate his surroundings.

That all changed in February of 2005, when Zack went on a retreat for cancer patients.

Though he was still fighting for his life, Zack came back "totally embracing a new perspective on how you face death," his mother, Linda Hoover said.

"Living in the present might sound trite, but I don't think that's something either of us did well," she said.

The lesson was particularly poignant because Zack had recently suffered a major setback. His cancer had returned, and this time the treatment wasn't working.

Then, in July 2005, Zack sat Allison down and told her he had decided to accept death.

"But he felt at complete peace with it," she said, adding that between her sobs he made jokes like "I'll be back."

Having chosen his course, Zack set himself a goal. He wanted to write a book, so that others might benefit from his experience.

"He just believed that you are not defeated," his mother said. "Death does not defeat you if you leave a legacy."

Zack's legacy actually dates back much earlier, to his years on the South Western High School football team.

Zack became a program record-holder in 1993 when he sacked an opposing team's quarterback 16 times in one season -- a record he holds to this day. With 23 sacks total in his career, Zack also tied the 1986 record-holder in that category.

Though there are some records in the 50-year-old South Western football program that date back earlier than 1993, Coach Don Seidenstricker said the fact that the longevity of Zack's record is a tribute to his talent.

Seidenstricker said he still mentions Zack's name on occasion to inspire his players. Describing Zack as "one of those guys that just was known and well-liked by everyone," Seidenstricker said he used his former player's book as a source of inspiration during a 2006 pre-game talk.

"We try to keep that spirit around," Seidenstricker said.

Zack's family has also established a scholarship fund for student-athletes at Shippensburg University.

Life after Zack

The wind is unforgiving on the day Allison Kleinfelter and Linda Hoover arrive at Sunset Memorial to get their picture taken for the newspaper.

As a photographer directs them into different poses, the two women make jokes about getting old. They ask if their hair is camera-ready.

One remarks that Zack must be looking down and laughing. He'd call them "suckers" for enduring all the work and stress that goes into building a park.

His mother jokes that Zack is more work now than he was in life.

That's the Zen of Zack lesson #7: Maintain a sense of humor.

Though Zack's lessons were directed primarily at those coping with cancer like himself, his family said they too have adopted their wisdom.

Case in point: Linda went sky diving.

"I've tried to take on Zack's sense of adventure for him," she said.

But Linda -- who now lives in Carlisle -- is quick to acknowledge that life is a constant challenge after losing a child.

"Really, although I put on a good front, I'm deeply sad," she said. "I'm going to always struggle."

Both women described themselves as former workaholics -- as Zack was.

"I worked all the time -- weekends, nights. I hated it, but I did it," Allison said. "I'm trying to slow down."

She's also fallen in love again.

Allison recalls meeting Brad Kleinfelter through work the same week that Zack started in-home hospice care. At the time, of course, romance "was the furthest thing from my mind."

But she was struck by Kleinfelter's expertise in working with the disabled, particularly those whose conditions are continually deteriorating. Allison said Zack had struggled to find outlets to be active and expressive during the 18 months before his death.

Having reconnected with Kleinfelter in April 2008, Allison said she found herself finally ready to date. They were married in August and reside in Mount Gretna, Pa.

Together, Allison and her new husband are on the verge of starting a project through which they will help people like Zack find ways to maintain a quality of life even as their health declines.

"This is something that's very near and dear to my heart," she said.

Saying Thanks

Allison wasted no time making Zack's park a reality. She attended her first meeting about the project in the same week her husband died.

Though simple in concept, her task was anything but easy.

"He left me with a really big project," she said.

Sunset Park is a symbolic beach setting surrounded by rural countryside. Nothing on the small plot of land is without meaning.

Panels of wood are a subtle representation of a boardwalk. Stone tiles are the sand of a beach Zack loved so much.

The porch swing harkens back to his childhood.

"Zack loved to sit on the porch swing at his grandmother's house when he was little," his mother said.

But what makes it more than a park is the emphasis on the sunset.

Three benches are strategically located to produce the best views of a sunset during the summer, spring/fall and winter solstices. Zack's idea was to provide a place for hospital patients and their families to go and find peace.

The park was Allison's project, her fulfillment of a final promise she made to Zack. But it took the efforts of hundreds to make her plan a reality, and she extended her thanks to them.

In October the year Zack died, more than 500 people -- many from the Hanover area -- participated in a 5k run to raise money for the park. Several of Allison's friends donated their engineering expertise in designing the park, and some businesses came through with in-kind labor donations.

Allison also mentioned her parents, her father in particular, who helped with the landscaping. Allison said Ed Ahrens and Zack shared a bond uniquely strong for a father- and son-in-law.

"We just always were close and talked," Ahrens said. "I kind of thought of him as my son."

Allison and Linda said they believe Zack has been teaching them patience from a distance. Though it took years, the project and Zack's final legacy is complete.

"I think he would be proud of us," Linda said.

In the past few weeks, Allison said she, too, has felt a real sense of peace and happiness. There is no doubt Zack is proud, she said.

"You can almost feel it," she said.

IF YOU GO

Family members and friends of Zack Topper -- a Hanover native and former South Western High School football star who died in 2006 -- have built a park to honor his memory. The Sunset Memorial is located adjacent to the Jonathan Eshenour Memorial Trail in Derry Township near Hershey, Pa. Those traveling from the Hanover area who wish to visit the park should take Route 322 East to the Hummelstown exit. Take a right on Waltonville Road. The Sunset Memorial is located on the left before Waltonville Road's intersection with Wood Road.

Newstex ID: KRTB-1031-39541356