Much-loved former Richmond resident Martin Lintag has lost his 10-month-long fight with leukemia.
Lintag, 30, passed away Sunday night, April 21, surrounded by his parents, extended family and his best friend.
In a vain, but brave, search for a stem cell match, Lintag, who grew up in Richmond, had managed to galvanize hundreds of people across Richmond and the Lower Mainland, many of whom were from his native Filipino community.
“It is with profound sadness that I inform you of the passing of my beloved cousin, Martin Lintag, at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 21 after a courageous battle with leukemia,” wrote his cousin, Ammabelle Lacorte Basco, in a Facebook post.
“He was surrounded by his loving parents, Bong and Linda, his loving Auntie Fely and Tito Ed, and his loving friend Jess Johnson.
“My Uncle Bong and Auntie Linda have asked me to pass on their heartfelt thanks to family and friends for their prayers, their words of encouragement, their expressions of love and their support during Martin's battle with leukemia.”
Another friend of the family, Lucia Lacorte Martin, wrote, “we love you so much…Our loss is heaven’s gain.”
Lintag was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, just a few days after his 30th birthday in July last year.
To survive, he had to find a donor match with his ethnic group and, according to Canadian Blood Services, only one per cent of their database are of Filipino ethnicity.
Almost 600 people stepped up earlier this year at a stem cell drive in Vancouver, in a bid to save Lintag.
Lintag’s family had already lost his only brother, Oscar.
In response, Martin had stamped Oscar’s memory into Richmond by organizing yearly sports tournaments with Richmond’s bowling community and Richmond Secondary School, to commemorate Oscar.
No details have been released yet with regard to any memorial service for Lintag.
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