ANN ARBOR — Chad Carr, the grandson of former Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr, died Monday at the age of 5.
“At 1:21 p.m. today, exactly 15 months since his DIPG diagnosis, Chad gained his angel wings,” his mother, Tammi Curtis Carr, wrote in a statement posted Monday afternoon on Facebook. “He left the earth peacefully and is now running and jumping in heaven. It is well with his soul.
“We will follow up with service details once we have everything arranged. We thank everyone for the support and ask for continued prayers for our family.”
Chad was diagnosed in 2014 with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). According to Boston Children’s Hospital, DIPG is a form of inoperable brain cancer in which tumors form at the base of the brain and arise from tissue made up of cells that help support and protect the brain’s neurons. Tumors are found in an area of the brainstem that controls vital functions such as breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate.
“It’s incredible sadness,” UM football coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday night on his radio show. “I don’t know if it’s going to get any better anytime soon.
“Heaven got stronger. Heaven has another angel now.”
Chad became a rallying point for the Michigan athletic community and for the university after the family announced his diagnosis last summer. Chad served as an honorary captain for the Michigan football team in a 30-14 loss to Minnesota, and he was honored again before UM’s season opener against Oregon State.
The Carr family said Nov. 11 that Chad had been admitted into hospice care. During Saturday’s Michigan State-Ohio State football team, players from both teams wore commemorative helmet decals honoring Chad.
The basketball teams from UM and Ohio State also decorated the Carr house in Saline, Mich., for the holidays, and the Michigan softball team visited the Carrs on Friday to present Chad with several gifts, including a softball glove and a banner signed by its team members.
UM basketball coach John Beilein addressed Chad’s death and offered condolences to the family during a news conference Monday.
“We’ve followed the situation so closely, and my assistant coaches and myself and Kathleen are such great friends, not just of Lloyd and Laurie and the Carr family but also Jason and Tammi,” Beilein said. “It’s a sad day. I’m sure there’s going to be some positive — an awareness of childhood brain cancer and what we can all do going forward.
“It’s tough to talk basketball, but that’s what we’re going to do.”
Before UM’s game 48-41 double-overtime win on Nov. 14 at Indiana, Michigan’s players wrote individual messages such as “#CHADTOUGH” — a widely circulated hashtag on social media — on the backs of their helmets in honor of Chad. Following the win against Indiana, Michigan football captains Joe Kerridge and Joe Bolden delivered the game ball to Chad, and Tammi Curtis Carr posted photos of the visit on social media.
“The spirit of that little guy and his toughness, I think we were drawing on that,” Harbaugh said after the win over the Hoosiers. “I think the guys were drawing on that at the end and found a way.”
On Monday, condolences flooded the Carr family from all reaches.
“.@tamcarr21 has devoted her entire career towards the betterment of children’s health. Nothing about this is close to fair #ChadTough,” former UM offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson posted on Twitter.
The Carrs and the Michigan athletic department said Saturday on social media that ESPN is planning to air a segment on Chad and on DIPG this week on College GameDay.
The family also established the Chad Carr Foundation, which raises money to help fund pediatric cancer research and raises awareness for pediatric brain tumors with an emphasis on DIPG.
Contact Rachel Lenzi at: rlenzi@theblade.com, 419-724-6510, or on Twitter @RLenziBlade.
First Published November 24, 2015, 5:17 a.m.
