Those who knew 7-year-old Jake Honig called him a tenacious fighter, a brave boy and an inspiration to all.

After a five-year battle with an aggressive brain tumor, the boy known affectionately as "Jake the Tank" died Sunday, according to a Facebook post on his page. The Howell resident had been under hospice care since December, and spent his final days with parents Mike and Janet, and younger sister Gianna.

"It was peaceful. It was painless. Jake left us this morning," the post read. "Jake had an 'old soul' and we will carry his sunshine with us forever."

Jake was well known in a community that often rallied behind him. Fundraisers were common for Howell residents and Jake, who was present two weeks ago at Howell Police Department's 'Hoopin' for Honig' basketball tournament.

Southard Fire Department, which gave the boy a ride on a fire truck in 2013, honored him with a lighted sign on Route 9 for the weekend.

Jake, who was fascinated with police and transportation, was surprised by Howell Police Department with his own tyke police motorcycle and became an honorary police officer in June, CBS reported.

Posted by Howell Township Police Department on Thursday, June 1, 2017

Jake was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma in 2012, a rare type of cancer to be found in the brain. He underwent dozens of rounds of chemotherapy, proton radiation and surgeries at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

He had been in remission for four years until a scan during a check up showed the cancer returned, spreading farther into his back, according to a post on CHOP's patient blog.

Since there were only four other known cases in the world of this type of tumor, Jake will be donating his brain and spine to research at CHOP, his father Mike said.

"Jake's still giving to other right now even as he's not here with us," Mike said.

Medical marijuana greatly improved Jake's quality of life in his last days. He used cannabis oil to help his appetite, slightly slow tumor growth and eliminating six of the pills he was taking every day, according to 94.3 the Point.

The Honigs became strong advocates for changes to the program, asking the community to write to Gov. Phil Murphy to revisit N.J.'s strict medical marijuana laws.

Murphy contacted the family two days before Jake died, voicing his support for changes to the program, a Facebook post said.

"A lot of work needs to be done, but it's children like Jake that will ignite change more rapidly," the family wrote. "This was a brief, initial conversation and a step in the right direction."

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Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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