North Haven Teen Dies After Courageous Battle With Brain Cancer

NORTH HAVEN, CT — The North Haven community and beyond is mourning the loss of Anthony Longley, who died Sunday after a long battle with a rare brain cancer. He was 13 years old.

Anthony was an honor student at North Haven Middle School and was involved in the North Haven Youth Football, North Haven Youth Basketball and North Haven Youth Lacrosse programs.

“We are heartbroken to share that Anthony Longley’s courageous battle with a rare brain cancer is over,” the North Haven High School Football team's Twitter account posted on Monday morning. “Anthony was a North Haven Youth Football player and recipient of our 2014 Spring Brawl fundraiser.

“We will always be proud and inspired by how hard he fought and he will remain in our hearts forever. The entire North Haven community and our program offers its deepest sympathies to his family and friends.”

The impact of Anthony’s courageous battle was felt by the North Haven community and beyond. As part of the fundraising efforts for the Longley family, popular radio station WMRQ Radio FM 104.1 changed its name to Anthony FM for a day in August 2015 in honor of Anthony.

Anthony battled the incurable brain cancer (anaplastic ependymoma) since he was 3 years old and underwent five major brain surgeries, along with many other procedures, by the time he was 9, according to a GoFundMe account that was launched in 2015.

"Anthony will be remembered by his family and friends as a caring, resilient, hardworking, sports loving young man who always had a smile on his face and was the first in line to lend a helping hand to anyone in need and forget about his own health issues," according to his obituary.