The Gaudreau Family 5K: A Story of Purpose, Healing, And Community

It was Chantal Tkachuk who connected Jane Gaudreau to Ellen Hughes, the mother of New Jersey Devils’ Jack and Luke.

In a group text among the three hockey moms, Jane was notified that Jack wanted to include the Gaudreau Family Foundation among the charities he would support with his Pat McAfee Show winnings.

“I remember thinking, Oh my gosh, this is amazing,” Jane recalled to The Hockey News. “Ellen said that when Jack found out about The Pat McAfee Show’s donation, her son told her, ‘I want to do this for the Gaudreaus.' That was so meaningful to our family."

Jane texted Ellen, saying she would like to thank Jack. Of course, she did not have the 24-year-old’s number and said she did not need it because the last thing he needed was another mom contacting him. Ellen quickly typed, “No, he would love to hear from you.”

Jack responded to Jane’s text, and after that brief conversation, Jane felt like she had known him her entire life.

A couple of weeks later, Jane and several of her family members traveled to the Prudential Center to see the Devils host the Calgary Flames. That night, the team was honoring her sons, John and Matthew Gaudreau, who tragically lost their lives on Aug. 29, 2024, after being struck by an alleged drunk driver.

Jane did not want to bother Jack and did not even mention she would be in Newark that night, but Ellen knew, and while up in her suite during the game, Jane received a message from Jack: "You know you can't leave until you come down and say hi."

After the game, photos were taken, and Jane finally had the opportunity to meet Luke, as she had previously met Jack and the eldest Hughes brother, Quinn, at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

The images were later posted to the Gaudreau Family 5K’s Instagram page, and what couldn’t be ignored was the genuine smile on Jane’s face as she embraced Jack. It served as a visual reminder of how much the Gaudreau Family Foundation has not only helped the community it serves, but also the individual members of the Gaudreau family.

Jane, her husband Guy, and their daughters Kristen and Katie have lived through 618 days without John and Matthew.

Over the last 20 months, the tight-knit family has been immersed in the depths of grief that not many can understand. Overwhelmed by their unwelcome new reality, mundane tasks such as getting out of bed and taking a shower seemed like too much of an undertaking.

Kristen, the eldest Gaudreau sibling, had no choice but to continue, as she is a mother herself and has children who depend on her.

“She had to wake up in the morning, make her kids' lunch, and take them to school,” Katie shared. “Go to work. Pick the kids up from school, and then take them to soccer, dance, and softball.

“I waited a little bit and then bought a house,” Katie continued. “I was starting my life with my husband, and we were thinking about our future.”

As the hours turned into days, days into weeks, and weeks into months, Katie and Kristen found themselves being propelled forward, yet not without the unimaginable void left by their best friends, their brothers.

“I don't think there is enough said for siblings,” Jane said. “When you think about it, siblings are the ones who are going to be with them the longest. The way it is supposed to be, the parents are supposed to go well before their children. Their siblings are the ones they should have for the rest of their lives and the ones they have known the longest.

“I realized that Guy and I lost two people, and that is terrible, but my two daughters actually lost, well, way more than that,” Jane continued. “They lost four people. They lost their two siblings, and they lost the parents that they knew. We will never be the same. We are different people now.”

For Jane, it is not the big things that become a trigger. It is the small and sometimes overlooked details - hearing a song on the radio or opening up the kitchen pantry and seeing a package of Oreos.

“We always have Oreos for the grandchildren,” Jane said. “I open the pantry every day, and they are there. Sometimes it doesn't bother me, but one day I see them, and it will trigger me, and the tears will start flowing.”

Matthew loved the cream inside the Oreo, while Jane prefers the chocolate.

Whenever the two were together, if one had a cookie, the cream would be put together for Matthew, and the chocolate for his mother. It is no surprise that those memories come flooding back when Matthew’s son, Tripp, is in that same kitchen, trying to reach for the package of Oreos in the pantry.

Jane has days where she is okay; it could be a couple of days in a row, but then the unpredictable emotions will hit. Grief is often described as a series of waves that can instantly overcome you and, in an instant, feel like you are drowning.

“When I talked to the therapist, I said I just want someone to tell me when I will feel better,” Jane said. “Will it be a year? Will it be two years? You know, so I have something to look forward to. No one would ever give me that answer because they can't.”

From Kristen and Katie’s vantage point, they saw their parents become further engulfed with grief with each passing day.

“Around January 2025, Kristen and I thought we needed something for mom and dad,” Katie shared. “They needed a project, something to put their energy into that is positive, that is going to keep the boys' legacy going.

“They don't have a purpose,” she continued candidly. “Their kids are grown, and my dad is retired now. Yes, they are grandparents, but you are not raising your grandchildren. Kristen and I thought we needed to find something for them. They are happiest when they are doing stuff for the boys. The slim happiness that they have comes from the events, interviews, or tributes for the boys. It does not matter how big something is or how small an honor is; they are in the front row, clapping. I don't think my parents have missed a single thing since the boys started getting honored. There hasn't been one single event that they missed.”

This is where Debbie Vasaturo enters our story. She was the one who, a couple of weeks after the boys passed, suggested a 5K. Jane recalls her friend said that her and her husband and the Gaudreau’s hockey friends wanted to help honor the boys and keep their legacy going. The Gaudreau’s had been donating to Archbishop Damiano School and they thought what a wonderful way to honor the boys by building an adaptive playground in their honor at the school that meant so much to the Gaudreau Family.

Upon hearing about the 5K, Jane initially felt overwhelmed. She and her husband took a couple of days, and after a few conversations with their daughters, they agreed.

“We thought, well, it would be nice, because after the funeral, so many people came to our house and we didn't really remember who was here,” Jane shared. “I thought, well, maybe with the 5K, that would be a way that we could see some of those people. I said to Guy, maybe there will be 100 people, and we could thank them and tell them how much they have helped us.”

The number of participants was well over 100. Last year, 2,374 people participated, including those who took part virtually.

The night before the 5K, Jane went upstairs into the boys’ room, which had stayed the same since they were little. A banner filled with hockey sticks, footballs, and baseballs remained plastered on the walls. Closets and drawers filled with John and Matthew’s clothes.

Jane took that moment to connect with her sons.

“I told the boys I don't know if you can hear me, and I don't really want you to do it for me, but there are going to be a lot of people there tomorrow that are running in your honor. It is supposed to rain, and it is supposed to be cold, so if there is any way you can just help me out, help us all out. Just have it rain early, or have it rain afterward."

A couple of minutes later, Jane walked out of the room.

While rain was forecast and a tornado threat was in place, the participants at the park the following morning saw neither. Instead, a double rainbow took center stage across the sky.

“My husband and I were driving up 295, the sun started to come out, and there was a rainbow,” Jane recalled. “We did not see the double rainbow where we were, only one. At the park, everyone saw two.

“I told Guy about my conversation with the boys and said I know it's them,” she continued. “They are sitting there laughing, thinking, let's make a tornado warning, and really get mom all anxious, then we will make the sun come out, and it will be a beautiful day. Guy started laughing and said, ‘You know what? You are right, that this has to be them.’ We then got to the park and pulled in.”

Throughout the day, Jane, Guy, and their daughters spoke about John and Matthew. Memories were exchanged, laughter shared, and over $500,000 was raised.

Jane’s initial thought that she would be overwhelmed with the event turned out to be true, but in a way she hadn’t quite expected.

“It was so overwhelming in a good way,” she said. “It felt like the hockey world was embracing our family and giving us one big, warm hug. I don't even know how to put it into words to say how comforting it was to know how much other people cared about our family and were trying to help us go through this.”

Over time, Jane and her family realized that any sliver of happiness they have had since Aug. 29, 2024, involves them talking about or honoring John and Matthew.

“It helped so much because the more I talked about the boys, the better I felt,” Jane said. “I didn’t want them to ever be forgotten. It was amazing how much it pulled us out of our deep, dark grief at times, because we knew so many people out there loved John and Matthew and loved our family.”

There is a saying, “People die twice. Once when they stop breathing and the second, a bit later on, when somebody mentions their name for the last time."

Jane, Guy, Kristen, and Katie have made it their mission to ensure that John and Matthew do not suffer a second death.

And in this mission, they are not alone.

When the USA’s men's ice hockey team won gold at the Olympics, players not only brought out John’s jersey for the team photo, but also his children. Throughout the tournament, various players spoke about John, keeping him as close as they could.

“It is seeing the love and support,” Katie said. “Every single time we go to an event or do something in honor of the boys and their legacy, it continuously surprises me. I think it is going to stop or slow down, but it doesn’t. It shows how much of an impact the boys made.

“Now, it is our job to continue making those impacts.”

The Gaudreau Family Foundation celebrates and preserves the memory of John and Matthew Gaudreau through charitable initiatives that are important to the Gaudreau Family and reflect their joyful spirits, love of family, animals, and passion for hockey and community service. The 2nd Annual Gaudreau 5K & Family Fun Day will take place Saturday, May 16, at Washington Lake Park in Sewell, NJ. If you are interested in making a donation, you can click here.

“It is so much more than a 5K,” Jane said. “It feels like it’s family and friends and people we have never even met becoming our friends, because they are so invested in John, Matthew, and our family.”

“It’s amazing.”

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