Fayetteville man who recently renewed vows to wife passes away after years-long battle with stomach cancer

Wednesday, January 23, 2019
FAYETTVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Anthony "Tony" Leonard passed away after a long battle with stomach cancer.

"My love, my best friend, our hero, our coach is now our guardian angel I LOVE YOU Tony Leonard," his wife Christy posted to Facebook on Wednesday.
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On Tuesday, she told loved ones that he would soon pass on.

"Our warrior is no longer responsive except for light blinks when we say I love you," she posted. "...Our warrior is almost ready. Please keep praying for a painless transition."

Leonard and Christy renewed their vows in an emotional ceremony in January.

Lenoard was diagnosed with cancer in 2012.



The cancer returned just after his five-year cancer-free anniversary and spread to his lymph nodes and three other organs in early 2018.
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He had his organs removed to prevent the disease from spreading.

In February 2018, he received a wish off of his bucket list from the Fill Your Bucket List Foundation: attending the first matchup of the season between Duke and Carolina at the Dean Smith Center with his family.


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