LYNDHURST, Ohio (WJW) — The principal of a local high school has died after a battle with cancer, FOX 8 has learned.

Michael Fording, 46, had been the principal at Brush High School in Lyndhurst for the last two years.

In June, a colonoscopy revealed he had stage four colorectal cancer that had spread to his liver. At the time, he’d been given 18 to 24 months to live. 

FOX 8 recently spoke with Fording regarding his health and what it meant for him to be surrounded by such a supportive community.  

“This is my extended family here and that’s staff, students, it’s just the culture piece, being here just to see the kids smile every day or when they have a problem, I love helping the kids when they have a problem,” Fording said in the interview last month.

South Euclid Lyndhurst Schools released a statement on Sunday following Fording’s death:

With mournful and heavy collective hearts, the South Euclid Lyndhurst Schools shares the sad news of the passing of Michael Fording, the beloved principal of Charles F. Brush High School. Mr. Fording’s battle with cancer was waged courageously and publicly over these last several months, following an unexpected diagnosis this past summer. During the journey that Mike was compelled to endure, his interpersonal demeanor never changed, always flashing a smile to his students and his staff, despite the hardships he faced. The stamina he conjured to withstand the harshest of treatments intended to extend the prognosis will forever be an inspiration to all who walked alongside him. When hundreds of members of the school family organized a benefit 1-mile walk and 5-kilometer run, endearingly named the 5K for Fording, to raise awareness and funds for colon cancer prevention, he looked upon the turnout with a grateful grin, and said, “I love these people.”

According to SEL Superintendent Dr. Linda N. Reid, “Unforeseen circumstances have a way of bringing out the very finest in people’s overall demeanor and disposition, and Mike Fording, despite his prognosis, came to work intending to affirm our students, and in the process, served as an inspiration for everyone in the South Euclid Lyndhurst Schools family.”

Mr. Fording spent more than two decades in public education, serving in the Euclid City Schools, which is his alma mater, the Garfield Heights City Schools, and finishing his career as the principal of Charles F. Brush High School. He has been a classroom teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, father, and a husband. He allowed all of us in the South Euclid Lyndhurst Schools a rare and profound glimpse into the very soul of a human being, who when faced with a terminal outcome, still found the strength to place others first, remained selfless in his endeavors, demonstrated a quiet compassion for students and colleagues, kept a desire for learnedness, and showed us true leadership. He is survived by his wife Melissa, and four daughters. Mr. Fording leaves behind a legacy of bravery, compassion, and will forever be remembered as a well-respected educational leader.  The SEL Schools expresses its deepest condolences to his family.