Zachary Schmok

Zachary Steven Schmok, 4 1/2 months old, passed away at 8:52 p.m. on August 24, 2008, in Memorial Hospital, South Bend.

He was born on April 2, 2008, in South Bend, with a broken heart. His life began with an airplane ride to Riley Hospital in Indianapolis shortly after birth where he spent all but a few hours of his life recovering from open-heart surgery. Zachary passed away just a few hours after arriving at his home back in South Bend.

Zachary is survived by his loving parents, Steve and Suzette (Katona) Schmok; his adoring sister, Tiffany Schmok; and his big brothers, Adam and Anthony Schmok. Also surviving are his grandparents, Charles and Kay Schmok, Don and Suzanne Katona; uncles and aunts, John Katona, Jeff Katona, Scott and Shari Schmok, Kevin and Amy Schmok, Ken and Dorothy Schmok; cousins, Logan, Dane, Jessica, Alexa, Brandon, Connor, Erica, Dorothy and Jacqueline Schmok; and great-grandmother, Cletys Peterson. He was preceded in death by his uncle, Brian Katona.

During Zachary's short time with us, he literally touched the lives of and made friends with the hundreds of people who were involved in his recovery. He had a smile that would melt the soul of anyone, both men and women, who walked into his room. Because of his heart defect, the odds were against Zachary since before he was born. He was, however, a fighter and repeatedly bounced back from the struggles that were thrown at him. Zachary survived open-heart surgery, nine days on an ECMO machine, a blood clot near his heart, "wet" lungs, three months on a ventilator, and three Code Blue episodes. He was referred to as our "3% baby" since he continually experienced things that only 3% of babies would exhibit. His brothers and sister loved to go see "Baby Zach" to hold him and rub him and love him. Zachary was a very good boy and will be dearly missed by his family and friends. He was an inspiration to everyone who knew him.

A private family service will be held. Zahoran Funeral Home, 1826 Kemble Avenue, is handling the arrangements.

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