Ashley Brown, 23, from Bethalto Ill., died Thanksgiving night due to complications with her leukemia at Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis, Mo., where she had recently received a bone marrow transplant.
Brown was first diagnosed with leukemia when she was 13 years old. She went into remission for four years following treatment, but the cancer returned the June after her freshman year of college.
She went into remission again after two more years of chemo therapy, but the cancer returned for a third time this May.
She was an organizational communication major and and a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority.
For the past 10 years Brown was an active participant in Relay for Life, The American Cancer Society’s largest fundraising event, which supported research, patients, survivors and their families.
Alpha Gam President Valerie Bender said Ashley blessed her, the chapter and everyone else who knew her.
“I am so incredibly thankful for all of the precious times together; her warm spirit and bubbly personality will be missed dearly,” Bender said.
Bender said Brown was a great friend and a great role model.
Brown was also elected as Sigma Chi’s Sweetheart for two years in a row from 2009-2011.
Alex Sewing, president of Sigma Chi, said everyone in the fraternity loved her and her personality.
“She had the type of personality where she would walk into a room and put everyone else in a better mood,” Sewing said.
Sewing, along with other members of Sigma Chi and Alpha Gamma Delta, helped organize a memorial service for Brown Thursday evening.