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Honoring Buck Zahradka’s Memory
The Buck Zahradka Memorial Scholarship continues to aid medical
students well after the Zahradka family created the fund in Buck’s
memory. As his mother says, “As long as people remember you, you live.”
By Jessica Sobolik
Shirley Zahradka (center) with her family.
“... His real strength is
his straightforward,
common-sense approach
to the patient’s problems.
”
It’s been 14 years since the tragic death of
Buck Zahradka, MD ’98, but his mother
Shirley still feels his presence in everyday
occurrences. “We like to say he’s still with
us,” she said. “Recently my grandson got
married. Buck was his hero. I think Buck
was there with us.”
In March 1999, just 10 months after
earning his medical degree, Buck was
beaver hunting in Hillsboro, N.Dak., with
anatomy graduate student Craig Cameron
and Trevor Thompson, brother of Jody
Thompson, MD ’97. Their boat motor
failed, and the boat went over a small dam.
All three men drowned.
A tree was planted north of the UND
School of Medicine and Health Sciences in
honor of Buck and Craig. The Ohio
buckeye “was chosen for its beauty and
hardiness,” former Dean H. David Wilson
wrote to Shirley in 2000. The tree
flourishes today. “It blooms beautifully in
the spring,” Shirley said.
Career Path
Among other factors, Buck was likely
influenced in his decision to attend
medical school by his older sister Sandra,
who earned her medical degree from Joan
C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall
University in Huntington, W.Va. She is
now a practicing dermatologist in
Birmingham, Ala. “Buck and I went to her
graduation,” Shirley said. “He and Sandy
were two peas in a pod.” Sandra said he
visited with her classmates and learned
they had previously come from successful
professions—engineering, law, nursing,
and accounting, to name a few. “I’m sure
he thought, ‘If they can do it, so can I,’”
Sandra said. “They gave life to his dream.”
Once accepted at UND, Buck completed
his first and second years of medical school
in Grand Forks, often bringing classmates
to his mom’s house for lunch. He spent his
third year on the Bismarck campus and his
fourth year in Minot. His graduation was
26 NORTH DAKOTA MEDICINE Holiday 2012