Milford family grieves loss of 12-year-old daughter, asks community to place soccer cleats in her honor 

A Milford family is working through the grief of losing their young daughter to a terminal cancer tumor. 

Avery Lafferty was raised in Milford where she grew up surrounded by a loving family and a strong support system via her ski and soccer teams.

She is described by her parents as a person who would bring people together and put smiles on their faces. 

However, Avery's life and her family’s life was dramatically changed in December of 2021 when she was diagnosed with diffuse midline glioma, a terminal brain cancer at the young age of nine.

It was from that moment that her parents began doing research to treat their daughter due to there not currently being a cure.

“The medications and treatments she went on were all clinical trials so we had to navigate with hospitals, institutions, evaluating trials, all of which weren’t a guarantee for a cure, it was a hope that it may have an impact,” Paul Lafferty said.

The doctors told the Lafferty’s that Avery would have only months to live.

Avery had a total of four brain surgeries, was on two clinical trials and underwent two full rounds of radiation before passing away in July of 2024 at the age of 12. 

“We were able to balance as much as we could, the medical treatments that she had to go to and the trips with doing some fun things and making sure we were spending quality time as a family,” Lisa Laffery said.

It was because of Avery’s diagnosis that the Lafferty’s began a grassroots organization, Avery’s Little Army, to raise cancer awareness of pediatric cancer.

“As Paul mentioned it's true there’s not a lot of federal funding directed particularly to these brain cancers so a lot of the research and trials that are funded to improve the life span of children and ultimately a cure are all grassroots efforts like we’ve started,” said Lisa.

Avery’s father Paul added Avery’s Little Army is also a way to continue his daughter’s legacy. 

“That’s what Avery would have cared about, I can’t remember a time when she didn’t help another kid,” said Paul.

The Lafferty’s are requesting the soccer community and beyond to place a pair of cleats, sneakers or shoes outside of their homes on Wednesday, July 24, take a photo of the shoes and tag the page, Avery's Little Army on Facebook as a separate way to honor their daughter.

“To honor Avery, for the soccer community to honor one of their own, whether they knew her or not, that battled this and passed away from this cancer and then just raise awareness as well.” 

To learn more about Avery’s Little Army, click here.