He was a young man with a heart of gold, a kind and caring manner like no other, an adored friend and a son who was his parents’ world.
But at just 21, Rotorua’s Jacob Snyman has lost his life to a rare form of cancer.
Rotorua student Jacob Snyman dies of rare cancer aged 21
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Jacob Snyman died on May 9 at the age of 21 after battling cancer. Photo / Supplied
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Jacob was Jan and Ingrid Snyman’s only child together. The trio enjoyed an adventurous life sharing experiences such as sports and arts and travelling the world.
Ingrid said she and Jan married later in life and really wanted a child together.
“We felt so incredibly blessed when darling, precious Jacob, also known as Jakes or Jakey, entered our world.”
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His childhood was spent enjoying family times, including board game nights with his parents and grandmother, who lived nearby.
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She had fond memories of their historic Lynmore home, which they spent years doing up.
She estimated that over a decade, they hosted about 100 help exchange travellers from around the world who would stay with them to work on their home and gardens in exchange for food and rent.
“This always made for a lot of interest and fun around the dinner table and Jacob got to interact with people from so many different countries.”
He enjoyed being their tour guide and showing them the sights of Rotorua.
He and his father also built a deck and a consented treehouse, which Jacob ran as an Airbnb in later years.
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Ingrid said Jacob was a spirited boy who always made his parents laugh.
“He was exuberant, curious, friendly and always happy.”
He loved John Paul College and all the opportunities it presented, such as science and engineering competition EPro8, art, football, futsal and the reading and maths competitions.
He completed the Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award and, alongside being a prefect, was selected as a house captain.
The family always enjoyed being together, either “hanging out and chilling” at home or more active things like mountain biking, kayaking or going on other adventures.
“Jacob came home from uni every break, and we all loved spending that time together.”
He loved all sports and played soccer throughout his school and university years.
He was studying engineering and was excited about his future. Always so grateful to his parents, Ingrid Snyman said he told her before getting cancer how he felt lucky with his life.
Cancer diagnosis
Jacob was diagnosed with tongue cancer in September last year and had surgery in Christchurch at the end of October.
By December, the cancer had come back and he was told in February that he only had weeks to live.
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Ingrid said her son was a “total inspiration” with his courage, determination, faith and resilience.
Despite what he went through, she said her son never complained.
She said they had been given immense support by those around them, including friends and medical staff.
“We have learned so much from Jacob about courage and hope and I think we will continue to learn from him and will endeavour to live up to his high standards as we go forward. And we have learnt that, in the end, there is only love.”
Friends pay tribute
On Josh Richardson’s first day attending a new school in Rotorua at the age of 9, Jacob went straight up to him and introduced himself.
They hung out all day and Jacob asked Josh to go to his house after school to play.
“That was my first day at Lynmore Primary, so it tells you what sort of bloke he was.”
They remained tight friends until Josh moved to Auckland in 2019 for his remaining high school years.
“Even with distance, he always made an effort to keep in touch.”
When university days came along, the besties were reunited after choosing to study together at Canterbury University in Christchurch.
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They were accepted into the same residential hall for their first year and have been flatmates for the past two years.
Josh described his friend as “beautiful” to live with, always thoughtful and a great cook.
He said losing Jacob in such a traumatic way was “awful”.
“We have never gone through anything like this before. Jacob was like my brother and we would do pretty much everything together.”
He said there were a lot of good friends in Christchurch who had supported their flat and friend group.
“We have been given meals, gift baskets and about 16 or 17 people will fly to Rotorua from Christchurch for his funeral to pay their respects, which shows what kind of an impact he had on people.”
Good friend George Crouch said they had been “joined at the hip” since they were toddlers.
“He was the first friend I ever had. He was the kindest person, seriously, a heart of gold. He cared about everyone before himself. He was genuinely one of the good guys.”
George said he would never forget how brave Jacob was until the end.
“It is so cruel he’s had to go through this at this age ... When he told us he was terminally ill, he was the one who said ‘don’t give up too quickly’.”
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Family friend Jo Cheesman said her son, Sam, and Jacob had been great friends since they were babies.
“It has been a privilege to know him his whole life.”
She described him as a mature, polite, grateful young man and someone who cared deeply for his friends and family.
“He was wise beyond his years ... The world is poorer for losing him.”
Jacob’s funeral service is being held today at 1pm at the Novotel Lakeside Rotorua.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.