LHS establishes scholarship in honor of Buriak

Ledyard — A scholarship fund in memory of Matthew Buriak, the 16-year-old Ledyard High School junior who died Tuesday, has been established through his school.

Buriak collapsed on Saturday during a junior varsity football game at Fitch High School. He was hospitalized in critical condition at Backus Hospital in Norwich and Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford. His family terminated life support on Tuesday and chose to donate Buriak's organs.

It is unknown how Buriak died, but it was apparently not the result of sports-related trauma, according to Ledyard superintendent of schools Michael Graner, who had spoken with Buriak's parents, Leon and Roberta.

Donations to the Matt Buriak Scholarship Fund can be sent to Ledyard High School, 24 Gallup Hill Road, Ledyard, CT 06339.

Buriak's wake is scheduled for Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes in Gales Ferry. His funeral also will be there at 10 a.m. on Saturday, with burial to follow at Avery Stoddard Cemetery. On a Facebook group called "Pray for Matt Buriak," his sister, Melissa, wrote that her brother's friends should wear blue and gold, Ledyard's school colors, on Saturday.