Ethan William Van Aulen, 16, of Mount Joy, PA, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday December 22, 2016. Born in Lancaster on August 23, 2000, he was the son of Barbara A. Van Aulen and the late Scott A. Gibson. Ethan attended Elizabethtown area schools from Kindergarten to 7th grade and attended 8th through 10th grade within the Donegal School District. Ethan wrestled on the Donegal Jr. High School wrestling team in the 8th and 9th grades, where he was welcomed by a very supportive team of coaches and students. Ethan was active in Cub Scouting from a young age and was currently a Patrol Leader with the Boy Scout Troop #53 in Maytown. He was concentrating on earning his Star, Life, and Eagle ranks. Ethan was a Four Diamonds Child through Penn State Hershey Medical Center as he battled and beat brain cancer at the age of 7. He looked forward to the big Penn State Dance Marathon every year, and he was sponsored by the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity and the Sigma Kappa Sorority of Penn State. Ethan also looked forward to meeting up with all of his friends and counselors each summer at Camp Can Do, Mount Gretna, a camp designated for childhood cancer survivors. Ethan was a fun loving and kind hearted young man who put others before himself. He had a wonderful sense of humor, loved to joke around and brought a smile to the face of anybody he crossed paths with. Ethan had an intense passion for animals, especially cats in which he loved to photograph. He leaves behind his beloved cats named Milo, Everest, Maddie, and Cocoa, and his dog Rebecca. Ethan's goal was to work with animals, becoming a vet assistant, work in the computer and graphic arts field, or fly drones for the government, which was another favorite hobby. He loved educating himself on drones and owned a collection of them in which he exceled in flying and showing off. He liked sports cars, playing on his cell phone, talking on his cell phone to family and friends, especially his Mom, his Uncle Danny, his Grandma Van Aulen, his Aunt Danielle and his cousin Jenna. Other hobbies included playing on his PS4 and computers. In addition to the many camping activities he did with his fellow scouts, he liked riding his bike, loved fishing, and playing basketball. He loved a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies, deeming his mother's the best around and loved his Grandma's cooking. Ethan meant the world to his family and his family to him. He was a strong and admirable person who bravely survived cancer and the death of his father during his short life. He was supported and loved by so many family, friends and teachers. He looked forward to going to school every day because of his friend and mentor, Mr. Josh Rittenhouse, at Donegal High School. Ethan is resting in peace now with God and his father but will be sadly missed and never forgotten. Surviving in addition to his mother, Barbara, who he called "Moom" and shared a very special bond with, are his maternal grandparents, Linda A. Van Aulen, of Lancaster, Daniel J. Van Aulen, of Lancaster; three loving aunts Jenny Heberlein, of Lancaster, Laurie Van Aulen, of Elizabethtown, Danielle Van Aulen-Roe, of Studio City, CA; two uncles, Daniel Van Aulen and Raymond Arment, both of Lancaster, and cousins Jenna, James, Jessica, Charlotte & Izayah. Relatives and friends are invited to a Funeral Service at 3PM on Thursday, December 29, 2016 at the Charles F. Snyder, Jr. Funeral Home & Crematory, 3110 Lititz Pike, Lititz, PA 17543. A viewing will be held on Thursday from 1 to 3pm at the Funeral Home before the service. In lieu flowers, contributions may be made to the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital, 1249 Cocoa Ave., Suite 115, P.O. Box 852, Hershey, PA 17033 or Pet Pantry of Lancaster County, 26 Millersville Rd., Lancaster, PA 17603.