Shepard community mourns Ryan Plowman, a 17-year-old soccer standout who died Saturday

Ryan Plowman was on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis Oct. 22, as a part of a joyful process of choosing a college for academics and soccer.

Less than two weeks later, his parents, Dan and Jen, were a part of a gut-wrenching process of deciding to take Ryan off a respirator after he was brain-dead for days.

Ryan died at 11:45 p.m. Saturday because his compromised immune system could not fight off complications of mononucleosis.

This two-week period produced stunning and sad news at Shepard High School, where Plowman, 17, was a popular student and standout soccer player who was instrumental in leading the Astros to one of the biggest regional upsets in the state in October.

“Even since kindergarten, he’s been the nicest guy,” teammate and friend Aidan Breslin said. “He always put others in front of himself. He was always a great listener and would give great advice.

“Nobody had a different opinion of him. Everyone had the exact same opinion that he was a great guy and unselfish and caring. Everything.”

Shepard will host a vigil for Plowman at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the school’s stadium. There will be a visitation from 3-9 p.m. Thursday at the Crestwood Recreation and Wellness Center, 5331 W. 135th St. Crestwood. A funeral Mass is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at St. Damian Catholic Church, 5250 W. 155th St., Oak Forest.

The family requests attendees wear something orange or Shepard-related attire. In lieu of flowers family asks for donation to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.

There is also a GoFundMe page set up for the family at gofundme.com/f/ryan-plowman-memorial. As of Tuesday morning, 950 donors raised $71,980 of the $100,000 goal.

The page was set up by Zeno Toscas, who was not only Plowman’s coach, but a friend of Dan and Jen Plowman long before Ryan was born.

“I’ve known Ryan for a very, very long time since he was a baby,” Toscas said. “This one really hit home for me.”

Toscas said he has known Jen Plowman his entire life, and said Dan is one of his dear friends.

“They are absolutely amazing people. For something so tragic to happen to them, it just doesn’t make any sense,” he said.

Toscas was with the family Friday when the parents made the decision to stop the respirator, and on Saturday when people came to Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago to say their goodbyes to Ryan.

“They made the decision, and they were at peace with it Friday night,” Toscas said.

Saturday was rough for those involved. The idea was to allow visitors in for a few hours but so many people showed up, it was a six-hour process.

“It was crazy. I never thought I would see him like that,” Breslin said. “I got there at 11 and didn’t leave until 5. I didn’t even want to leave the room. It was good that the team was able to say goodbye to him. No one wanted to see him like that, but everyone was able to say goodbye in their own way.”

There was also a huge surprise element to this death.

Ryan always was athletic and Toscas described him as “one of those big hulk-ish kids” who was 6-feet tall with the expectations he would grow some more in college. Toscas said Ryan had no heath issues until late 2021 when he developed Chron’s Disease.

Through nutrition and a proper diet, Ryan was healthy enough to participate in the soccer season this fall and was an All-South Suburban Conference player as the center back on defense.

Few people knew about Ryan battling Chron’s Disease, which Toscas said may have led to his immune system failing.

Breslin did know about the Chron’s Disease but never thought it could lead to this.

“This never even crossed my mind that this was a possibility,” Breslin said. “Easily, this is the toughest thing I’ve ever had to deal with.”

The day before Ryan’s visit to Butler, he helped lead fifth-seeded Shepard to a stunning 5-1 victory over top-seeded Sandburg to win a regional championship.

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The following Monday, Toscas said Ryan told him he didn’t feel well. The next day, he played in Shepard’s season-ending 5-1 loss to Bloom in sectional semifinal action and three days later he was in the hospital.

Toscas said Oct. 31, Ryan went in for a procedure and his health took a turn for the worse.

“The doctors said there was a blockage in a respiratory system and that’s when he coded for 23 minutes,” Toscas said. “That was it. The brain was starved of oxygen and there was zero brain function.”

News of Plowman’s death reached social media and there was an outpouring of sympathy including support from opposing teams, such as Sandburg.

“You know what? That’s the most amazing thing about it,” Toscas said. “I would never expect anything like that. There are at least six of our competitors that donated. It’s insane, for lack of a better word.

“The soccer community has been great.”

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.