'Amazing' Virginia girl who didn't think Santa was real passes away

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Chloe Rochester, an "amazing" five-year-old Virginia girl who had been fighting cancer for more than a year, passed away early Friday, according to her family.

"Chloe passed into the precious arms of Jesus, peacefully in her sleep," her family posted on social media. "Thank you for your prayers. We love you all..."

Chloe was singing in her family’s traveling Blue Grass gospel band in the winter of 2022 when she began having terrible stomach pains.

The girl was diagnosed with stage four Anaplastic Wilms Tumor in February 2023. Since that time Chloe has undergone surgeries, numerous rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Provided to WTVR

With her giggles, one-liners and quick wit, Chloe’s caregivers said they were continuously charmed by her and could not believe her maturity level. Despite it all, her doctors and nurses at the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital in Charlottesville said she was always upbeat and courageous.

The then four-year-old celebrated a major milestone at the hospital in March when she completed her final round of chemotherapy.

However, her father shared devastating news in June that Chloe’s cancer was "back with a vengeance."

"She's got two baseball-sized tumors and they're growing very, very quickly," her father said. "It looks like the next several months we're going to be trying to shrink those tumors enough that they can do surgery on them. One is in her pelvic area and one is near her other kidney."

Then in July came more bad news.

“We are in the hospital on Chloe's second cycle. Unfortunately, the CT scan was not good," her parents posted on July 21. "The tumors have grown back to the size that they were at the beginning after our 9 days at home, and there are signs that there are more tumors forming in her abdomen."

Last Sunday her family asked for prayers after posting that Chloe was "not doing well." And then on Wednesday, her family announced that Chloe was in palliative care.

CBS 6 Anchor Tracy Sears, and Photographer Ben Brady heard about Chloe through a friend’s Facebook post. They surprised her with special gifts, including a doll house for the station's annual Month of Giving in December.

The pair dressed in “Buddy the Elf” outfits after they learned that Chloe loved elves and was asking for a pink elf outfit for Christmas.

“I love dollhouses,” Chloe exclaimed after seeing her present. “I might have to put a lot of stickers on it, which I’m going to let you do that job,” Chloe joked with her father.

Chloe said that she wanted to be a nurse when she grew up to work at the hospital and care for other children.

Before leaving the hospital, Chloe tried on a knitted red hat that she found in a bin at the nurse’s station. “So, I can stay warm for winter,” she explained to Tracy. Whispering in her ear, Tracy asked if she thought Santa would like her red hat.

“Funny, very funny,” Chloe replied. “I still don’t think Santa is real.”

Chloe is survived by her parents, Isaac and Angela Rochester.

A memorial service willtake place Saturday, Aug. 31 at 1 p.m. at Peoples Baptist Church in Penn Laird. A private interment will follow at Eastlawn Memorial Gardens, according to her obituary.

Attendees are asked to wear something bright and happy as "Chloe did not like dark colors or for people to be sad."

The family said contributions in Chloe's memory can be made to Peoples Baptist Church in Penn Laird, the University of Virginia Pediatric Hematology/Oncology or the Yellow Door Foundation in Charlottesville.