Edmonds-Woodway High School graduate Nora (Dean) Hermann is raising money to help pay for the funeral expenses of another E-W grad, Boise (Junior) Friday, who died Wednesday of complications related to cancer. The money is being collected through a GoFundMe account here.

According to Hermann, Mr. Friday was an Edmonds native, born at Stevens (now Swedish/Edmonds) Hospital. “He was initially diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2008,” she said. “He was supposed to graduate in 2008 but due to cancer treatment he didn’t graduate until 2009.”

Following treatment, Mr. Friday was in remission from 2009-2013. He briefly attended Edmonds Community College, and in January 2013 began school at Sterling College in Colorado, where he was studying anthropology.

“In April 2013 he came back to Washington for a routine remission checkup and they found out that he had cancer-induced MDS (myelodisplastic syndrome),” Hermann said. “It’s a form of cancer that you can get due to the chemo treatment you previously had. On April 29, he started his stem cell transplant process. They did a few days of chemo, a few days of radiation, and the actual transplant was on May 5. There were complications from the transplant, which led to multiple organ failure.”

Hermann, who graduated from EWHS in 2005, said she wants to do what she can to support Mr. Friday’s mother — a friend of her own mom— who is self-employed and works hard to make ends meet. I” can’t imagine what she’s going through,” Hermann said. “I know that funerals can be a huge expense and I didn’t want her to feel like she had to carry that burden alone.”

Added Hermann: “Junior was a big part of the Edmonds community and touched the lives of everyone he met. This is our way of giving back to the legacy he left us with.”