Lima-area girl loses 5-year fight against cancer

Brain-cancer victim Ashleigh Lowe, 8, `always had a smile on her face,' an aunt says.

LIMA, Ohio - Eight-year-old Ashleigh Lowe, who spent most of her young life fighting cancer, has died at her Shawnee Township home.

Over the years, the community had come together to help Ashleigh's family with medical expenses and, in December, to help replace their most basic necessities after a fire gutted their mobile home. The Dec. 3 fire occurred just days after Ashleigh had returned home from her third brain-tumor surgery.

“She reached a lot of people,” said Susan McGregor, Ashleigh's aunt. “She always had a smile on her face.”

The cheerful little girl had been diagnosed with brain cancer when she was 3. She was back in the hospital in February for emergency surgery, Ms. McGregor said.

Ashleigh leaves her parents, Shane and Sherry Lowe, and a 2-year-old sister, Emma. A second-grader at Liberty Christian School, Ashleigh spent the past school year at home, Ms. McGregor said. She did her work at home in part because of the medications she was taking. She was a member of New Hope Christian Church and enjoyed fishing, golfing, and traveling.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Chiles & Sons-Laman Shawnee Chapel, where visitation is scheduled for 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. today. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. tomorrow in New Hope Christian Church.