Two months have passed since Zack Latteri lost his five-year battle with leukemia.

He was a River Vale teenager and would have started his sophomore year at Pascack Valley this September.

“People always want to help kids with cancer, but Zack was so much more than cancer. That was the last thing he thought about even when he was really sick,” said Zack’s mother, Sharon Latteri.

So she decided to start a foundation to remember Zack.

Originally, it was going to be a scholarship, said Mrs. Latteri, but she decided to turn it into a foundation so she would have more control over who or what gets the money.

This way, anyone can contribute to it as long as it is charitable. For example, someone can plant a tree in Zack’s honor as part of the foundation. Donors can pick what their money goes towards and the foundation is still going to give out a scholarship in June.

While the foundation doesn’t have a name yet, she still started a committee to spearhead it made up of family members and close friends of the Latteris. Many of the people she picked have children in Zack’s grade.

“I don’t think people will forget him, but in 50 years when the parents can’t do it anymore, then the kids can, to keep it going on and on,” Mrs. Latteri said, her voice breaking.

As he was a helpful, hardworking, and kind kid, the community supported Zack throughout his whole illness, in any way that it could, from the day he was diagnosed up until the end.

People set up fundraisers for Zack, they sent meals over, and one family who had won a year’s worth of landscaping gave it to the Latteris so they wouldn’t have to think about mowing their lawn on top of everything else they were dealing with. A local company donated a limo to bring Zack and a few friends down the shore for the day a few months ago.

His friends visited him every day, even when he couldn’t talk anymore, and sold orange wristbands and t-shirts.

He was allowed to come to school whenever he felt up to it. Assistant principal Mrs. Debbie Squiccimarri, who acts as a liaison to the foundation and helped set it up, was in charge of at-home instruction. She gave Zack instruction in the office conference room so he was still able to experience a school environment without the dangers of walking around the halls with his chemo pack.

A few weeks before he died, Zack was recognized and given a proclamation at Town Hall.

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10 at the River Vale Community Center, a Zack-yard Backyard Sale will be held. A $40 donation will reserve a spot at the sale and go toward the memorial scholarship. In addition, there will be treats sold at the “Zackery Bakery”.

“I know Zack always did so many nice things for people and so many people did nice things for him. I wanted to give back to the community that’s done so much for Zack,” Mrs. Latteri said.