Family participates in 'Shave for a Cure' fundraiser to honor child lost to cancer

He never went bald.

In a photo taken on what turned out to be his last birthday, Michael Weinstein, 9, wears his dark hair in a close cut.

He leans against a tree because by then he had trouble standing on his own. He found the energy to get out of his wheelchair and pose for a few minutes.

That’s how his family remembers him, as the determined boy with the soulful brown eyes who tried to live a normal life despite his long struggle with brain cancer.

“He was full of piss and vinegar,” said Chrissie Lograno-Weinstein, his mother. “He never let the cancer define him. He always wanted to be a kid, even though he was so sick.”

Six months after that photo was taken, Michael was gone. He passed away in May 2015, Lograno-Weinstein said.

In his honor, the Weinstein family helped organize and participated in the Shave for the Cure fundraiser held Saturday afternoon at Gulf Coast Town Center. It benefitted St. Baldrick’s Foundation, which raises money for kids with cancer by holding head-shaving events.

On Saturday, people took turns getting their hair cut or shaved on stage in Gulf Coast Town Center’s plaza.

Included in that group were Michael’s younger brother and dad, who shave their heads at St. Baldrick's fundraisers every year.

“Michael used to call them his hair-cutting parties,” Lograno-Weinstein said.

A final tally of how much money was raised Saturday was not immediately available, but event organizers said they reached about $10,000 for St. Baldrick’s by mid-afternoon.

Lograno-Weinstein plans to continue helping the foundation, in Michael’s name.

“For us as a family, every dollar raised is just a little bit more hope.”