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Child loses battle with cancer

Ainsley Kargela is pictured. (Photo courtesy of the Ainsley's Army Facebook page)

MARQUETTE — Ainsley Rose Kargela, a second-grader at Cherry Creek Elementary, has died.

The 8-year-old lost her battle with a rare form of cancer on Sunday at Children’s Hospital in Detroit, according to the Ainsley’s Army Facebook page.

“I’m writing with the heaviest of hearts and eyes full of tears to inform you, Ainsley got her Angel wings Sunday and is in heaven with her Grandpa Claude,” a post on the page states.

The Marquette area community rallied around Ainsley — who was first diagnosed in 2012 with rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer that arises in soft tissues of the body such as muscles — creating Ainsley’s Army on Facebook.

Ainsley and her family were the first beneficiaries of the Mom Prom in 2015, as well as car washes, lemonade stands and countless other fundraisers and contributions to help pay for travel expenses and medical care.

In June, teachers, students and staff at Cherry Creek Elementary School gathered together and wore camouflage clothing at the school’s annual field day in support of Ainsley.

The school put together and mailed care packages for Ainsley, and was selling fundraising bracelets, made by Dawn Dott Dance of Marquette, that read “Ainsley’s Angels,” a June 5 Mining Journal article states.

This was her third time battling the cancer, which was referred to by her family as the “monster.”

Ainsley — who was a member of a hockey team, Dawn Dott Dance’s dance team and played soccer — was described by her second grade teacher Kim Rae in the June 5 article as a child who was “very active in the community,” and was cared for greatly by the many people whose lives she has touched.

“Please remember how every single time you saw Ainsley she brought a smile to your face,” the Ainsley’s Army Facebook post states, “how she was always so happy, loving, caring, selfless, an amazing friend, a fighter, a true inspiration to everyone she met — the Ainsley list is endless.”

According to a notice in today’s Mining Journal, Ainsley’s family will receive relatives and friends during a celebration of Ainsley’s life at the Swanson-Lundquist Funeral Home in Marquette from 2-8 p.m. Saturday.

A service of remembrance will be held at the Hope United Methodist Church at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

Condolences may be expressed online at swansonlundquistfuneralhome.com.

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