We’re never ready to say goodbye to our bothers, even less so when they are taken from us unexpectedly. We are sad to share the news of Jon Gonzalez’s passing suddenly in a freak car accident the evening of April 14. A service was held April 2, and more than 20 brothers attended from all along the East Coast, but he will be missed by so many more.
Gonzalez impact on Kappa Sigma is still felt, years after his 2012 graduation, and it will continue to be felt years down the road. During his time as an undergraduate, Kappa Sigma was newly re-chartered, and Gonzalez played a significant role in recruiting new brothers, something Brother Mike Vough sees as instrumental to keeping Kappa Sigma alive, saying “He was instrumental in getting Alpha Delta off the ground.”
“Jon was the number one recruiter that our chapter has ever had and it was evident in his services,” said John Whitney, Gonzlalez’s Little Brother and life-long friend. The two met when they were about eight years old and grew up together in Sparta, New Jersey, before heading off to Penn State together.
“Jon recruited [me] and another large class my freshman year and also recruited a very large class of men the year below me as Jon was their resident advisor. He basically recruited almost an entire dorm floor.”
He wasn’t just an excellent recruiter; he was also a kind, selfless brother.
“He made an effort to get to know everyone in the chapter,” said Vough. “His fraternal family… is still strong to this day.”
“He was a selfless brother who always put his brothers above himself. He was everyone’s best friend,” Whitney explained. “He was the guy who would call late at night just to see how you were doing, drop everything he was doing to be with friends, etc. He was our rock.”
His service wasn’t limited to recruiting. Gonzalez was an active volunteer, happy to fill any need or request from being Rush Chair, to manning the door at a party of dancing in in Greek Sing. According to Vough, “He always manned the grill at the tailgate, despite always burning the burgers [and] he played in every IM sports team we had.”
Gonzalez also never forgot the importance of just relaxing and hanging out with his brothers. He loved to play NHL 09 on xBox with the brothers,” Vough added.
Gonzalez has solidly settled himself in people’s lives, hearts and memory through his “fun loving personality and his laugh,” as Whitney described it. “When I attended the service for Jon, there was not a single picture of him where he wasn’t smiling, the life of the party and surrounded by friends,” he continued. “He was a very close friend that I’ll miss very much.”