'He was a very dear friend': Vernon Hills mourns loss of recent high school graduate

The Vernon Hills community is mourning the loss of a "joyous young man" who died Monday, a day after being pulled from Como Lake in Walworth County, Wisconsin, just north of Lake Geneva.

Adam Jablonski, 18, a recent Vernon Hills High School graduate, was planning on attending the University of Missouri, according to a GoFundMe page created by Friends of Adam Jablonski.

As of Thursday night, 737 donors had contributed more than $59,047 toward a $50,000 goal to cover medical and funeral costs, and the organizer disabled further donations.

Jablonski died after what was described on the GoFundMe page as a swimming accident.

"He was a very dear friend and a joyous young man that will be greatly missed," according to the GoFundMe page. "This has left an enormous emotional toll, along with a huge financial burden on his family."

Jablonski was an honor graduate and member of the National Honor Society, according to Mary Todoric, spokeswoman for Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128.

"His classmates describe Adam as a kindhearted friend who lifted the spirt of others with his contagious smile and warm disposition," Todoric said.

He also was a member of the peer tutoring team and had a varsity letter in boys basketball. Teachers described him as a leader in the classroom who was committed to excellence in all he did, Todoric said.

First responders were dispatched for a rescue call about 8 p.m. Sunday to a pier associated with a residence off South Shore Drive, according to a news release Wednesday by the Town of Geneva police. They attempted CPR on Jablonski, who had been pulled from the water, then had no pulse and was not breathing.

Jablonski was taken to Mercy Lake Geneva Medical Center and then transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Hospital, where he died Monday, police said.

Town of Geneva police were assisted by Lake Geneva Fire and Rescue, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Walworth County sheriff's department and the Walworth County medical examiner's office, according to the news release.

Police did not say what Jablonski was doing before being pulled from the water or release other details.

As of Thursday afternoon, the Walworth County medical examiner's office had not been released an official cause of death as the matter remained under investigation.

"We are absolutely devastated by Adam's tragic passing and would like to help support his family by contributing to funds to cover the cost of his medical bills and funeral," Friends of Adam Jablonski said on GoFundMe.

Vernon Hills High School is supporting Jablonski's family and friends as memorial services are planned.