""Princess Leyha Jane Bartels,"" 6, of Brady, passed away Nov. 30, 2012, at her home after a courageous three-year battle with cancer. ""Princess Leyha"" lived in the Brady community and was currently a kindergartener in the Brady school system.
Leyha's contagious smile and positive attitude spread to the people around her. She had a love for life that no one had ever seen. She always had compassion for those around her. Lehya's brother Hunter was a large part of her life and she always loved and protected him. She was the leader of her huge group of cousins, and everybody's best friend. She also had a special friend, Randin Hood, a soldier deployed to Afghanistan who ""adopted"" her.
She is survived by her father, Jason Bartels, of Maxwell; mother, Katie Stewart, of North Platte; brother, Hunter Bartels, of North Platte; grandparents, Sue Spurgin of Brady, Kathy Hoffman of Brady; great-grandmother Velma Jean Brown, of Brady; aunts and uncles Dan and Torrey Stewart, of Curtis, Jeremy and Becky Bartels, of Brady, Jill Miller, of Brady, Angel Hoffman, of Brady, Mark and April Hoffman, of Cozad; and many other family members and friends.
Leyha was preceded in death by her grandfather, Dan Stewart; great-grandparents, LaVonne and Larry Spurgin, Catherine Stewart, and Gerald Brown; great-aunt Sherry Lynn Spurgin; and cousin, Brianna Brown.
Memorials may be made to The Princess Leyha Scholarship Fund, which was established in her name, and online condolences may be made at adamsswanson.com.
Services will be at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 5, at the Brady High School, with the Rev. Robert Litzenberger officiating. Burial will follow at Gaslin Cemetery near Brady. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the family receiving visitors from 6-8 p.m., on Tuesday, Dec. 4, at Adams and Swanson Funeral Home, which is in charge of arrangements. .Published in North Platte Telegraph from December 1 to December 2, 2012