JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Early last year, Paxon School for Advanced Studies senior Kennedy Waymer was named News4JAX’s All-Star Athlete, she felt a pain in her throwing arm while practicing with her school’s softball team.
Waymer was a standout on her team, but also played basketball and volleyball, and carried a 4.6 GPA.
“I was just in awe because she was so good at it,” Sandra Waymer, Kennedy’s mom said.
Her skills on the diamond earned her a softball scholarship to the College of Coastal Georgia after helping lead her team to to the 4A District 2 Finals.
Her parents didn’t know what to make of the pain in her arm, but they eventually took her to Nemours for tests.
Anthony Rogers a coach and family friend of Kennedy said during her senior year they noticed something was wrong, but didn’t know what was up.
‘We were like Ken’ you’re kind of lethargic. She was like sorry coach I’ll pick it up," Rogers said. S”orry coach I’ll pick it up. And she just picked it up.”
A few weeks before graduating high school, doctors diagnosed her with Osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer that affects teenagers and young adults.
She began chemotherapy on May 18, 2024, and underwent surgery to remove the affected bone last summer. After 19 rounds of chemotherapy, she relapsed this year and underwent two lung surgeries in early 2025.
Through it all, she still joined the Coastal Georgia softball team while she battled the disease.
A GoFundMe set up to help raise money for the family said she kept high grades while studying engineering and showed “remarkable resilience.”
Waymer died last week, Oct. 14, at the age of 19.
“It was heartbreaking to see your child go through that,” Ronald Waymer her father said.
Her family and friends are devastated, and a celebration of life service is set for Saturday, Oct. 25 at Greater Macedonia Baptist Church.
Though Kennedy isn’t here anymore those who loved her say they’ll always remember the loving person who they knew for 19 years and cherish their favorite memories.
“One of the most fun things we used to do is sunrises at the beach. She loved the beach so we would do that together,” Sandra said.