Darren Lederman, 41, focus of support

Darren Lederman, 41, died March 15 after a more than year-long battle with acute myeloid leukemia. During the course of his illness, community members rallied around him, holding bone marrow donor drives, T-shirt sales, and delivering meals.

A graduate of the Jewish Educational Center in Elizabeth, Lederman, a commercial buyer, lived in Westfield with his wife, Stacey Katcher Lederman, a teacher in Warren, and their children, Emma, eight, and Noah, six.

They were active at the JCC of Central New Jersey in Scotch Plains.

Diagnosed in January 2015, Lederman had a bone marrow transplant the following summer, but by last fall he had developed host-versus-graft disease. Although the family continued holding drives for a bone marrow donor hoping to find a match, the cancer returned, and he did not recover.

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“My amazing, selfless, and heroic husband, Darren Lederman, has lost his tireless fight to leukemia,” wrote Stacey Lederman on the Facebook page set up to provide support for the family through Darren’s illness. She went on to ask people to “continue to keep my amazing family, especially our two children, in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you for all of your love and support.” More than 1,000 people had joined the Lederman Strong Facebook group. 

The Darren Lederman Memorial Fund (youcaring.com/DarrenLedermanMemorialFund) has been set up to cover the family’s short-term expenses. College funds have also been set up for his children at ugift529.com (for Emma, code C6V-413; for Noah, N8P-R83).

Lederman was predeceased by his parents and brother. The funeral was held March 17 at Goldstein’s Funeral Chapel in Edison.