After former Calgary Flames assistant GM Chris Snow passed away on Saturday at the age of 42, support for his family has been pouring in from the sports community and beyond.
Personal friends of Snow, who had been diagnosed with a genetic form of ALS in 2019, have also chimed in, such as Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder.
Vedder was performing at the Ohana Festival in Doheny State Beach on the day of Snow’s passing. Visibly emotional, the singer-songwriter decided to dedicate his song “Just Breathe” to the former sportswriter and vice president of hockey operations.
“I was so upset, and I thought maybe if I had your help, we could make a moment,” Vedder said to the large outdoor crowd before requesting they use their phones to illuminate the space in Snow’s honour.
“If we could all unite together, if there’s something we could send to him, he definitely deserved it. And his wife and two great, amazing kids, they certainly deserve it,” Vedder added. “This is for Chris.”
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Vedder also acknowledged the fact that Snow, who had been raising awareness for ALS throughout his fight, was an organ donor.
“While he was hanging on, they were able to take some healthy pieces of him and save four people,” he explained to the crowd.
While it’s unclear how long Snow and the musician knew one another, the 58-year-old participated in the #TrickShot4Snowy challenge ALS fundraising campaign back in 2020 by riding a wake surfing board behind a speed boat.
Ed has accepted Theo Epstein's (@Cubs) #TrickShot4Snowy challenge to help support the fight against ALS. pic.twitter.com/Zdw0hwpb5k
— Pearl Jam 🇺🇦 (@PearlJam) July 9, 2020
Snow’s wife Keslie shared much of her husband’s battle and his fundraising work on social media. Through multiple campaigns, the family raised more than $575,000 to help fund research for the disease.
Last week a GoFundMe page was set up to support the family. It has currently surpassed US$160,000.
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