Cancer claims Sequoia student

A first-grade student at Sequoia Pathway Academy in Maricopa has died from cancer.

Seven-year-old Semaj Rayford died at Phoenix Children’s Hospital at 12:15 a.m. Saturday surrounded by his parents, according to a letter sent out to parents by Principal Rachael S. Lay.

“His father stated that Semaj passed away peacefully,” Lay wrote. “He was a wonderful little boy who fought a great fight.”

A student in Andrea Kruse’s class, Semaj was diagnosed in March with an inoperable tumor in his brainstem.

Saturday night was the Maricopa Relay for Life, a fundraiser for cancer research, and Ray asked the Sequoia Pathway family to go to the event to “and pay tribute to Semaj’s fight.”