St. Luke's parishioner blesses others with his work

By Christina Galeone
CFP Correspondent
WESTBOROUGH – In 1959, St. Teresa of Kolkata wrote a letter containing powerful instructions. “Be a true co-worker of Christ,” she wrote. She added, “Be an angel of comfort to the sick, a friend to the little ones, and love each other as God loves each of you with a special, most intense love.”
Although those words were addressed to the Missionaries of Charity sisters, they could easily resonate with any Christian. In regards to St. Luke’s parishioner John Ragan, they reflect the way he’s been serving fellow blood cancer patients and their families since 2014. But Mr. Ragan’s successful fundraising efforts for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society haven’t just blessed those helped by the nonprofit. They’ve also blessed many St. Luke’s faith formation students whom he inspired to raise funds and awareness for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Mr. Ragan’s journey to help others with blood cancer began in 2000 when he was working at the Keefe, Bruyette & Woods office at the former World Trade Center and living in New York with his wife and eldest son. It was then that he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. After receiving chemotherapy and later opening a new KBW office in Boston in August 2001, he was soon devastated by the 9/11 attacks that took the lives of 67 of his co-workers. He then went from picking up the pieces from the tragedy to facing trauma, when his cancer returned in 2002.  Fortunately, his life was saved by a bone marrow transplant, and he’s now in remission.  
When his transplant doctor nominated him for LLS Massachusetts Man of the Year, in 2014, he gratefully accepted the challenge and won the title by raising $213,000 for the nonprofit. In 2015, he was elected to the LLS Massachusetts Chapter Board of Trustees, and for the past two years, he has co-chaired the chapter’s Man and Woman of the Year fundraising competitions.  Through his dedication, he’s indirectly helped raise more than $800,000.
“I enjoy doing any and all volunteer missions for this wonderful nonprofit, all in the name of two major reasons – the amazing investments into medical researchers all over the world who are working on new therapies for blood cancers and also the blood cancer patient and family assistance fund,” Mr. Ragan said. “The idea is simple; every dollar goes to helping families dealing with these terrible diseases, while funding cutting-edge research that will increase survival rates of future patients.”
With his enthusiasm for helping others, he approached Gloria Josephs, the youth ministry director at St. Luke’s, and asked if he could share his story with high school faith formation students. He wanted to let them know about the LLS Massachusetts Chapter’s Student of the Year fundraising competition. Mrs. Josephs immediately embraced the idea.
“John is an extraordinary man and friend of mine; knowing his success story battling leukemia, I was more than happy to have him speak to the high school kids,” recalled Mrs. Josephs. She added, “Several of our students have parents who are very ill. There is always hope. Medicine and treatments are getting better. John Ragan is a living testament to this!”
Not only did Mr. Ragan’s visit give the students hope, it also gave them inspiration. One student, Michael Durr, was so inspired by Mr. Ragan’s story that he formed a team and won Student of the Year.
“I couldn’t be more grateful or proud of Michael and his team for their commitment to help blood cancer patients, for raising money to fund future research and simply being a positive force in the world,” said Mr. Ragan. “Raising over $20,000 was an amazing accomplishment!”
Mr. Ragan and his wife, Katie – who has also raised funds for LLS in addition to teaching St. Luke’s faith formation classes for several years – hope to continue helping and inspiring others for many years to come. And their faith is at the root of that hope.
“Katie and I both went to Catholic high schools and met at a Catholic university,” shared Mr. Ragan. “The importance of being people for others has had a profound impact on our belief system and our family. I am truly blessed to be alive. We will do whatever we can to help others.”