Funeral Services for Dan Soyka Set for Monday

A Celebration of Life potluck for Dan Soyka, a young Dunedin man who passed away after a struggle with incurable ALS, is set for Monday, 6 p.m., at the Dunedin House of Beer.

Funeral services for Dan Soyka, a Dunedin man who received an outpouring of community support during his two-year battle with a debilitating and incurable degenerative disease, are set for Monday. Soyka, who not so long ago was the wise-cracking life of the party in his tight-knit group of friends, passed away peacefully in his sleep Wednesday, his friends announced on Valentine's Day. He was 35.  Friends and family members who mobilized to help when he was diagnosed with ALS have kept people informed through their ALS awareness group "Our Friend Dan" Facebook page.  Our Friend Dan announced funeral arrangements Friday afternoon.  Arrangements are as follows: In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in support of friend …

• Photos (2)

Community Mourns Passing of Dan Soyka

Dan Soyka, a Dunedin man with ALS who received an outpouring of support for the past two years, passed away in his sleep over night, his friends announced on Facebook on Valentine's Day.

Top Headlines: Dad's Return From Afghanistan, Sweetbay Closing, Munchee's Robbed

OK, so you had a busy week. We understand. Let us catch you up on all the highlights from Patch!

Trista Sarles-Redfield, 9, was delighted to see her father enter her fourth-grade classroom at Dunedin Elementary School on Thursday. He surprised her with flowers in front of her peers a day earlier than expected. Trista said it was a Christmas wish come true. Dan Soyka's condition has declined since being diagnosed with incurable ALS, but his friends are determined to help. A Dunedin Sweetbay Supermarket, at 1681 Main St., is among 33 under performing stores in Florida scheduled to close in Feburary, the grocer's parent company announced Wednesday. What would you like to see in its place? Pinellas County Sheriff's detectives are investigating an armed robbery at the Union Street Munchee's late Tuesday in Dunedin. Unmarried couples, gay …

• Photos (3)

House of Beer Party Helps Our Friend Dan

Dan Soyka's condition has declined since being diagnosed with incurable ALS, but his friends are determined to help.

As Dan Soyka's illness progresses, his care gets more involved. This time last year, his wife Lisa Soyka, had watched Dan's condition downgrade from his usual wise-cracking, life-of-the-party self to not being able to speak or swallow.  Now his condition is even worse. Dan still uses a syringe to eat and drink through a feeding tube. He breathes with the help of a tracheotomy tube. He's starting to lose the ability to walk, and has an increasing dependency on his wheel chair. He also has to be lifted to use the bathroom. "He doesn't have much leg strength left," Lisa said. Dan, 35, is diagnosed with ALS, an incurable disease that slowly degenerates nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, in essence, hindering voluntary muscle movement …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (6)

Local Group Seeks Raffle Items to Help Friend with ALS

A tight-knit Dunedin group is in the early stages of organizing its second annual fundraiser party to aid their friend Dan Soyka, a young man living with terminal ALS, and they could use some help.

Pittsburgh Spin-A-Thon Helps Dunedin Man

A group in Pittsburgh is taking to their stationary bikes on Sunday to help fundraise for Dan Soyka, a Dunedin man with ALS.

The fight is far from over for Our Friend Dan. The tight-knit group trying to help their friend Dan Soyka, a recently-wed 34-year-old Dunedin man with ALS, an incurable nueromuscular disease also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, has a far reach — far enough to reach Pittsburgh, PA, where people are rallying to help him with a fundraiser Spin-A-Thon on Sunday, July 8. At a year and a half after his official diagnosis, Soyka can’t speak or swallow. He uses a syringe to eat and drink through a feeding tube and breathes with a tracheotomy. Medical statistics give an average of three to five years life expectancy after an ALS diagnosis. Some of his Pennsylvania friends, Jon Wright and Cassie Conti, organized a fundraiser Spin-A-Thon, set for …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (2)

Jared Leone

4:39 pm on Friday, July 6, 2012

How inspiring.   more ›

5 Things to Know Today: Tuesday, July 3

Stuff about the midnight run, changes to laws about your disabled parking permit, your favorite local business and where to find the cheapest gas in town.

1) Expect mostly sunny skies with a high near 90 today, according to the National Weather Service. If you're participating in the Kiwanis Midnight Run tonight, low is 76, with really light winds (which means the air may be thick). 2) The lowest reported gas price in Dunedin is $3.09 (cash, regular) at the Super Shop, 1001 Broadway, according to TampaGasPrices.com. 3) Good luck to the runners at the Kiwanis Morton Plant Mease Midnight Run tonight! It's not too late to register. Sign up starts at 9:30 p.m. in Causeway Plaza in front of the Sheriff's Youth Ranch Thrift Store. Be sure to bring your registration fee ($15-$50, depending on race length). Also, the Sandbar Grill is open for race day spectators wishing to grab some grub and a drink…

• Photos (1)