After a 16-month battle with a brain tumor, Wylie Strotbeck passed away at the age of 13 at his home in Ambler PA on April 16, surrounded by his family and friends.

Wylie is the son of Stephanie (nee Arch) and John Strotbeck Jr., grandson of Barbara and Martin Arch and Sally and Jack Strotbeck, and brother to Max, 12. John was on seven US team, including two Olympic teams, and was one of the founders of Boathouse Sports, the rowing apparel company. Wylie's grandfather Jack was one of the patron saints of rowing at the Jersey shore; father John has followed in Jack's footsteps as a steady supporter of rowing on many levels of the sport.

Wylie showed the kind of tenacity that perhaps only a kid can bring to a fight with cancer, and in doing so became an inspiration to the entire US Olympic rowing team.

The US Men's Four named the boat they rowed in Athens for Wylie; click on the photo at right for a full-size version. When Wylie was in the hospital this winter, row2k gave Mike Teti, longtime pair partner of Wylie's dad John, a collection of posters of the shell racing in Athens to hang in the hospital; folks who saw them remarked "Pretty impressive; Wylie rowed in the Olympic Games" - just like his pop.

After winning the gold medal in the men's eight, Bryan Volpenhein cited Wylie as a source of inspiration in his training and racing. "The people I take inspiration from are people who come up to us from other countries and congratulate us, or someone like Wylie Strotbeck, the son of a friend of Mike's, who is fighting a brain tumor. He has been through seven bouts of chemo, that's tough. As long as you go out there and you have fun, leave everything on the water, race as hard as you can, whether you win or lose, I think that's okay."

The family previously requested that in lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory be made to "Neuro-Oncology Research Fund" in honor of Wylie Strotbeck, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 34th & Civic Center Blvd., Phila, PA 19104-4399 Neuro-Oncology Research Fund in honor of Wylie Strotbeck, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105. Children's Brain Tumor Foundation, 274 Madison Ave, Ste 1301, New York, NY 10016.