Summerland graduate dies while overseas
22-year-old passes away in sleep while at Edinburgh hostel
A 22-year-old Summerland native, who graduated from UBCOkanagan last year at the top of his class, has died while travelling in Scotland.
Josef Zagrodney passed away in his sleep May 27 at a hostel in Edinburgh, according to his grandfather, Bill Jory.
The cause of death remains a mystery, said Jory, although early indications suggest his grandson succumbed to a previously unknown medical condition.
After graduating from Summerland Secondary School in 2013, Zagrodney spent four years at UBC-O, from which he earned a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy.
His grades at UBC-O were so good that he also earned a 2017 Governor General Academic Medal, recognizing him as the school’s top graduating arts student.
Zagrodney then moved to Vancouver Island, where he had just completed his first year of law school at the University of Victoria before heading overseas.
In his spare time, Zagrodney refereed all levels of minor hockey, first in Summerland and later in Penticton and Kelowna, too.
Sean Anderson, a former Summerland referee-in-chief, said Zagrodney’s intellect also shone through in the officiating program.
“Off the ice, he was always asking questions, always questioning and asking why. Things that show an intelligent person,” said Anderson, who’s now the BC Hockey officiating co-ordinator for the South Okanagan.
“On the ice, he was very intelligent, very friendly, very engaging.
“BC Hockey extends our condolences to his family. He was one of our brothers.”
And a UBC-O philosophy professor for whom Zagrodney worked as a research assistant described his former pupil as grounded.
“Josef has been a highly talented and bright student. He always remained humble and studious, despite his great academic success,” Holger Andreas said in an email.
“I considered myself very fortunate to have him as a student in my classes.”
Zagrodney’s obituary also paints a picture of a well-rounded young man.
“Josef will be remembered as a master hugger, summer camp mentor, hockey referee and teammate, lover of dogs, aspiring writer of epic novels, and aficionado of craft beer and quality spirits,” it states.
“His ready smile, quirky sense of humour, passion for justice, and his wisdom and humanity beyond his years touched all he met. He truly wished to right all the wrongs in the world.”
Zagrodney left behind his parents, Ken Zagrodney and Janet Jory, and brother, Graham.
Details of a gathering to remember him will be released at a later date.