Graduate student Everett Mongiello Sugarbaker, 28, died at his family home in Coral Gables, Fla. on Jan. 23 after a five-month struggle with cancer.

Sugarbaker was a fourth-year student general surgery student at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

Raised in Miami, Sugarbaker attended Cornell University where he played intercollegiate football and rugby while earning a B.A. in chemistry.

“Everett was loved by his many close friends at SLU,” stated Joe Donnelly. “With a fun and energetic personality, he was the life of every party.”

Sugarbaker excelled in his medical studies at SLU and was planning a career in general surgery when he was diagnosed with cancer in September 1999.

“He was a scholar, a gentleman, an athlete and a fantastic friend,” Donnelly stated.

Sugarbaker is survived by his mother, Catherine, his sister, Katy, his father, Everett V. Sugarbaker, M.D., and his grandparents, Everett F. Sugarbaker, M.D. and Geneva I. Sugarbaker of Jefferson City, Mo.