Jonah Gruda believed in “working hard to leave the world a place better than [he] found it.”
After he died in June from cancer, his wife started a research scholarship in his honor, which will hold a fundraising event in January.
Debra Gruda said her husband’s health battle began when he was 18 years old, when he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.
She said that over time, doctors suspected he also had primary sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic liver disease that significantly increases the risk of a rare bile duct cancer.
Cholangiocarcinoma is an aggressive form of cancer that often shows little to no symptoms before its diagnosis. According to The Cleveland Clinic, those who are diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma in its later stages have a 5-year survival rate between 2% and 3%.
Jonah’s diagnosis was confirmed in September of 2023, a date that Debra said heavily impacted the Farmingdale family in multiple ways.
She said that they received the news just hours before the Farmingdale High School bus crash that injured dozens and killed two.
“We double-gutted the community all in one day,” Debra said.
Jonah began receiving treatment at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he went through chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Debra said that he was eligible for immunotherapy only because his colon had previously been removed due to his colitis.
In February 2024, Jonah underwent a 10-hour surgery in a Houston Cancer Center that removed about 40% of his liver, his gallbladder and 13 additional tumors. The Grudas stayed in Texas for three weeks as Jonah recovered, which included his 45th birthday celebration.
Jonah received promising news in April 2024, as scans indicated that there was no evidence of the disease in his body.
“It was like the most amazing news ever,” Debra said. “We really believed that he was going to defy the odds and be one of those rare stories.”
But that optimism didn’t last long as his tests in May 2024 showed an increase in lymph node activity, which prompted Jonah to continue chemotherapy.
Debra said that despite Jonah’s diagnosis, he was still working, traveling and staying involved with all aspects of his life.
“He didn’t let cancer define him,” she said. “Unless you spoke to him on a chemo day, you wouldn’t have known.”
By February, the cancer had progressed rapidly and Jonah’s condition worsened. Debra said that friends and family came to visit Jonah during his final few weeks. He died on June 30.
Debra said that throughout Jonah’s battle with cancer, she had been connected with the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation. Through the foundation, Jonah had mentored other patients while also receiving support himself.
“This is a small community where everyone knows each other and they offer a tremendous amount of help,” Debra said
She said the idea for the research fellowship came after Jonah’s cousin had run a triathlon in his honor. Debra said she had spoken with a friend about the race and the friend told her that if she were to raise $85,000, she could have a research grant named after Jonah.
“It was like a light bulb turned on,” she said.
Debra began fundraising for her foundation with the guiding phrase, “Because Jonah Would.”
She said the name reflects the everyday kindness Jonah was known for, and that she wanted to do the right thing to help those with Cholangiocarcinoma, “because Jonah would.”
To raise the funding for the foundation, Debra set up a fundraising event on Jan. 24, 2026, at Mulcahy’s, located at 3232 Railroad Ave. in Wantagh.
Debra said the benefit will feature music, food, an open bar, raffles and silent auctions to help get the foundation towards its $85,000 goal. So far, Debra and others have been able to raise over $33,000 for the cause.
