KEY TAKEAWAYS

Former Jazz Bear Jon Absey, battling cancer, draws inspiration from smiling young patients.

Absey, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, recalls terminally ill kids' positivity as motivation.

Support from family, friends and past experiences helps Absey maintain his optimistic outlook.

SOUTH JORDAN — He was there when Michael Jordan scored his last basket as a Chicago Bull in Game 6 of the NBA Finals at the Delta Center in 1998. He saw Karl Malone play his last game as a member of the Utah Jazz and when he returned as an LA Laker in 2003. And, he witnessed John Stockton's jersey retirement ceremony in 2004.

Jon Absey was at the Delta Center for those important basketball events, and more. For 24 years, he was there for everything — from the comfort of his Jazz Bear mascot ge

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