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Thirteen-year-old Alex Shepherd of Ashland died Tuesday evening of brain cancer, with his family at his side. Alex, an avid snowboarder, bicyclist and cat-lover was diagnosed in 2013 with anaplastic astrocytoma and underwent dozens of radiation treatments, chemotherapy and four brain surgeries. As a gift from Make-A-Wish Foundation, he and his family in winter 2013 were flown to Hawaii for a happy four-day vacation and some surfing and paragliding — a main wish of Alex. On the way, Alex and his parents, Dan and Aushna appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show, where they were given $10,000 to help with bills and a new Mazda in which to make frequent trips for treatment in Portland. On team-alex.com, his mother posted her thoughts about the passing, noting it was peaceful and his sister Lily and lifelong cat pal were there also. He had five cats.  DeGeneres gave a delighted Alex a DVD called "Best Moments of Cat Week" from her show. “Alex is a huge cat fanatic,” Aushna said at the time. “He started really loving the ‘Ellen’ show when she started doing cat week, and that's why he wanted to meet her so much.” Alex, a student at Ashland Middle School, played soccer, got good grades, voluteered at the animal shelter and wanted to become a doctor, “so he could help people,” his Team Alex website said. On the show, DeGeneres said, “You're an amazing, brave young man.” She showed a video of Alex snow skiing just months after extensive radiation and chemotherapy, as well as surgeries, which included the removal of a “banana-sized tumor,” Aushna Shepherd says. Alex was a healthy, normal child until one day in April 2013, when he suffered a grand mal seizure, said his father, a critical care nurse at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, in an interview in 2014. “Till then, he was a totally fine, smart, good-looking athletic boy, whose dream was to become a surgeon," says Aushna. "Then one day, the seizure. Then the diagnosis, the worst thing you could ever hear about your own child.” On the show, Dan said, “It was a major turning point in all our lives — beyond belief.” Ashna Shepherd’s posting describes a loving passing, a visit from the minister and assurances he would see soon see departed family members. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. Alex's age has been corrected in this version.