Within the weeks after Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau were killed in a tragic bike accident, even the smallest tasks for his or her family felt Herculean.
“We could barely get off the bed within the morning and take a shower,” Jane Gaudreau, mother of the late Johnny and Matthew, exclusively told Us Weekly.
Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, were killed in August 2024 when an alleged drunk driver hit them together with his vehicle in Oldmans Township, Recent Jersey on the night before their younger sister, Katie, was alleged to get married.
“We didn’t just lose the boys that night,” Katie told Us. “We lost the boys and my parents. Losing a toddler is something that no one should ever must undergo.”
Months after Johnny and Matthew died, it was suggested that a 5K be organized to boost money within the brothers’ honor — but Jane knew they’d need assistance.
“Our friend said, ‘We’ll do all the things for you, just tell us,’” Jane recalled. “‘In case you’re not able to be involved, perhaps you could possibly just come to the 5K.’ We thought, ‘That will be great because on the funeral, there have been so many folks that got here to see us that we don’t really remember.’ So we thought, ‘OK, that may be an important method to see them and it could be under happier terms.’”
The 5K was held in May 2025 and raised over $500,000 to construct an accessible playground on the special education school where Jane and her oldest daughter, Kristen, work.
Given the fundraiser’s success, the family goes even larger this yr with the 2nd Annual Gaudreau Family 5K Run/Walk & Family Day, which shall be held May 16 at Washington Lake Park in Sewell, Recent Jersey. This yr’s event will profit the newly established Gaudreau Family Foundation, created to honor the enduring legacies of the brothers.
“I don’t think people throughout the hockey world — throughout South Jersey to Columbus to Calgary — I don’t think they realize how much they did for us,” Jane said. “By them talking to us and bringing them into their world and seeing what they may do for us or how they may help keep John and Matty’s legacies alive, they only helped us a lot with our grief.”
The fundraiser also provides the chance for supporters to participate and get entangled virtually, which Katie said shows the widespread influence her brothers had everywhere in the world.
“It is a tragedy that I’d never wish on my worst enemy,” she said. “Due to support that we’ve gotten from everybody — not only in america and North America, however the people in several countries who’ve reached out — telling stories concerning the boys and the impact they’ve made, it really helped us to heal and to proceed to heal.”
The late Johnny and Mattew Gaudreau’s sister, Katie Gaudreau, is pregnant, gearing as much as welcome her first child with husband, Devin Joyce. “Our favourite news to share,” Katie, 25, captioned an Instagram video on Thursday, February 26. The black-and-white video showed Katie wrapping her arm round her husband’s neck while holding a pair of baby […]
Jane echoed her daughter’s heartfelt sentiment, saying, “I don’t think they realized how much they’ve helped our family, just continuing to speak about John and Matty and wanting to be a part of our lives.
“We’ll get letters within the mail, sometimes I’m not even sure how,” she continued. “I’ll must ask Katie or Kristen, ‘Where did this come through?’ People will say, ‘We’re so impressed with how your loved ones gets along, your loved ones union.’ There’s just so many individuals. Hockey families are like that.”
A raffle of gift baskets, online merchandise sales, and more will help raise additional funds for the Foundation’s mission.
To learn more concerning the 2nd Annual Gaudreau Family 5K Run/Walk and Family Day, to sponsor, or to register, visit www.runsignup.com/GaudreauFamily5K.