The untimely passing of a 27-year-old Jim Thorpe man that was the aftermath of a long-term battle he faced with an opioid affliction has prompted his family to fight back on the local war against drugs.

After Matthew Reabold died on Jan. 31, his family established a fund in his name as a means of raising awareness of the growing opioid epidemic in our society and to help others with the devastating disease.To aid the fund, the first Matthew Reabold Memorial Golf Tournament will be held onJune 17 at the Willow Brook Golf Course, Catasauqua. Golfers and sponsors are being sought to make the event a successful one.Butch; his wife, Kathy; his daughter, Nicole McGinley; and cousin Brian Conrad are the organizers of the event, and are joined by relatives and friends of the Reabold, Thear and Figura families of Jim Thorpe. "It's been a joint effort," Butch said.The objective, he says, is to "not let happen to anyone else's son or daughter what happened to Matthew."According to the tournament brochure, Matthew Reabold "was a vibrant, happy and talented young man with an infectious personality that left a lasting impression on everyone he met."A 2008 graduate of Jim Thorpe Area High School, Matthew was a two-time Olympian team MVP, after which time he joined the golf team at Keystone College where he was a standout and well-rounded player."Unfortunately, Matthew struggled daily with opioid addiction, which tragically led to an infection in his eyes," the flier says. Later, he was left without sight in his left eye and was declared legally blind."Four months after his passing, Butch Reabold is left troubled by how drugs affected his son and are impacting others in the region. "Every day that goes by, I get more aggravated by the passing of my son," he said. "I can't sit here and let it happen to anybody else. My son was a great kid, but, unfortunately, drugs took over his body."At the time of Matthew's passing, the family requested memorials go to the Matthew Reabold Memorial Fund to "be used to help others experiencing the same daily struggles." The fund is established at the Jim Thorpe Neighborhood Bank."The outpouring of support that we received when my son passed was overwhelming," said Butch."I have gone to a meeting in Lehighton, talked to plenty of people, including police and the county commissioners, and we would like to start something for our local area to get together others who have lost loved ones, to try to fight this disease. I haven't met a person who in some way was not affected by this epidemic and I'm sure they want to fight back," he said."Not a day goes by that I don't think about what I could I have done for Matthew, or even if I did something wrong," he said."The whole system is terrible and needs to fixed. I spoke to the director from Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug & Alcohol Commission and she told me in the past, if someone mentioned your loved one was a drug addict, that, right away, that person was no good or a loser. But, now, drugs is a leading cause of death in America. People are starting to talk and realize this is a terrible disease. These are good children and adults who come from good families and it is happening all over the USA. I'm asking others to join us in fighting back."In addition to Butch and Kathy Reabold, Matthew was a son of Karen (Thear) Figura and Jack Figura of Jim Thorpe and the grandson of William "Butch" Reabold and his wife, Pat, and Louise Thear, all of Jim Thorpe, and the late Joe Thear Sr.Those interested in participating or sponsoring a tee or green in the outing can contact Matthew's father, 570-249-1405, or theBrian Conrad, 610-533-7902, at the Blue Monkey Sports Restaurant, North Catasauqua (monkeybl@ptd.net).