In Memoriam

We don't publicize this often, but every once in a while, we reporters get to write an article
we have personal ties to. That was the case with the memorial tribute I wrote last week about
Jon Dechau, a guy who graduated two years ahead of me in high school. LCS was a very small school,
so every student knew who every other student was. Still,(and I can't believe I'm saying this)
high school is now more than 10 years ago. So my memories of Jon are fuzzy, limited to his ruddy
cheeks, his then-budding devotion to biking, and the bright yellow Dodge Rampage he drove
(trust me, it was quite the unique car.) The MPN tributes are typically just profiles of
ordinary folk in the community, but it's a bit out of the ordinary when 800-plus people crowd in
for a memorial service. So that's just one more reason why I wished more folks could read it. Hence, this
is now accessible for those who might not have had access to the Sun. Sept. 24 edition. (Note:
This version varies slightly from the print version, as I restored a couple of words that served to
clarify phrasing.) I always want readers to feel as though they've gotten to know someone better
through these tributes, mainly because I've always gotten a taste of their personality just by speaking
with family and friends in the process of writing it. But this one is a little bit different. Not just
because of that personal connection, but because a lot of "ordinary" things about Jon were a little bit different,
a little extraordinary, if you will. Read on.



Jonathan Dechau, the 'ultimate optimist'
The Rushville native is remembered for his smile, spirit and faith.
By RACHEL E. DEWEY
Messenger Post Staff
RUSHVILLE - For years, Jonathan Dechau tried to convince his friend and
fellow cyclist Todd Scheske that Dechau's hometown, Rushville, was "right
on the way" to an East Coast race.
"Just look at a map," the always-positive Dechau would tell Scheske.
The competitive cyclist - "JonBoy" to fellow racers - was 33 when he was
struck from behind by a motorist Sept. 13 while pedaling along the
westbound shoulder of Routes 5 and 20, near Harold Avenue, a few miles
from his Lima home.
Mr. Dechau started riding when his dad, Rick, gave him a BMX bike at age
13. The next year, the two graduated to road bikes and Jonathan began
racing, his dad said. Father and son played baseball, basketball and
hockey together, too.
As a teen, Mr. Dechau biked to his job at the Canandaigua McDonald's and
routinely rode around Canandaigua Lake on Sunday afternoons, his mother
said. In 1991, he graduated as salutatorian from Lima Christian School. By
1993, when he earned a liberal arts degree from Finger Lakes Community
College, he was classified a Category 1 cyclist, the highest amateur
ranking.
Racing at that level for nearly a dozen years, Mr. Dechau was a fierce and
clever competitor who could "time trial like an animal,"  said Scheske,
describing races where Dechau pushed others, including Scheske, to a win.
Mr. Dechau won several Empire State Games and state championships, and had
so many top finishes in time trials, road races and criteriums around the
country, his family literally can't count them all. In 2000, he placed in
the Top 20 at the Olympic trials, and he was planning a pro career with
Noble House Securities when the team's corporate sponsorship fell through.
Still, "he was the ultimate optimist," Scheske said. "You couldn't keep
him down."
Shawn McHugh of Stanley, one of 28 foster children who lived with Mr.
Dechau and his parents through the years, counts himself among many
touched by his welcoming spirit.
"From Day One, Jon treated me as if I was his brother," McHugh said,
adding how much he, then just 14, looked up to him. "He impressed upon me
some life lessons that will never be forgotten, most importantly, that a
life centered around God was a blessing, not a curse."
Even as a teenager, Rick Dechau said, his son carried his Bible to races
and was viewed as a spiritual mentor by those older than he.  "They knew
they could count on him to pray," he said.
Among many of the jobs Mr. Dechau held over the years to fund his cycling
was a two-year stint alongside landscaper Brian Porter of Pittsford. The
two also trained together. Porter is among many who told Mr. Dechau's
family not only of his diligent work ethic, but of frequent calls to
convey encouragement, concern or simple birthday cheer.
"But that was Jon, everything to everyone -always with a big smile, kind
words, and an infectious laugh," Porter said.
"The thing he would say the most is 'God is good,'" said Mr. Dechau's
wife, Debbie, who lived near Batavia and first met him online the night
after she prayed for God to send her someone to help turn her life around.
"He really did bring me a lot closer to the Lord than I had ever been,"
she said. The two were married July 9, 2004.
Mr. Dechau began cutting back on biking to spend more time with her son,
Tyler, and was thrilled when the couple's baby girl, Lillian Paige,
arrived eight months ago.
Every morning, her husband would sing Lily a song he'd made up while he
changed her diaper, Debbie Dechau said, allowing "he wasn't a particularly
good singer" but sang often anyway.
"I try to sing her the same song when I get her up now, just so I don't
forget it and so she'll remember it too," Debbie Dechau said.
Almost daily, he would show off cell-phone photos of Lily to co-workers at
Jim White Metal Products, Inc., where he was learning bidding processes
and administration in preparation to take over his parents' iron working
business.
"He delighted in the littlest things. Something that to somebody else
wouldn't mean diddly-squat just made his day," his mother, Judi Dechau,
said, describing daily phone calls to report Lily cut a tooth or Tyler was
rounding bases at a baseball game.
"He always saw the best in everything and everybody."  

In another unique happenstance, two area web sites, www.buffalophotocd.com and
www.gvccracing.com are just brimming with photos and memories, particularly as
relates to Jon's racing career.