Cancer takes life of Drew Albritton

Cancer has claimed the life of Drew Albritton, four-year-old son of Mike and Elizabeth Albritton of St. Louis. Elizabeth Albritton is the former Elizabeth Carroll, a Dexter native and DHS graduate. The child's grandparents, Dean and Carolyn Carroll, reside in Dexter.

Drew battled through numerous surgeries and treatment procedures, including a stem cell transplant, radiation, immunotherapy, and extensive physical therapy, as he faced ganglioneuroblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer. Word reached Dexter late Monday afternoon that Drew had died at St. Louis Children's Hospital where he had been treated since his diagnosis in the summer of 2012 when he was just two years old.

Throughout Drew's valiant battle, area residents supported the Albrittons with donations and fundraisers including T-shirt sales, meat sales and a concert at the First Methodist Church of Dexter in February 2013. Love offerings at events have also gone to assist the family with expenses incurred during Drew's lengthy treatment process.

Mike and Elizabeth Albritton are both teachers in the St. Louis area. Mike is a fifth grade teacher in the Ft. Zumwalt School District, and Elizabeth is a psychological examiner in the Francis Howell School District.

No funeral service information was available at press time Tuesday. That information will be posted online at www.dailystatesman.com as it is received.

Along with his parents, Drew leaves a little sister, Reese.