Sometimes a story comes along that just makes us want to hug our kids and those closest to us. The story of Larry Ivory and his daughter Alexis, a student at Nashua High School North, is one of those.

It is a heart-wrenching story of a father stricken with cancer who wanted to live long enough to see his youngest child graduate from high school.

Larry Ivory, only 48, was diagnosed with cancer last year. Word that the end was near came about 10 days before Alexis was scheduled to receive her diploma on Father’s Day, but nobody was sure Larry would live long enough to see it.

"There is no more they can do," said Carole Ivory, Larry’s wife and the mother of Alexis, Amanda, Andrew and Sabrina.

When that news reached the staff at the high school on Monday, June 6, they sprang into action and scheduled a graduation ceremony for that Friday, June 10, specially for Alexis and her family.

"People canceled events to come here," said Cheryl Caissie, a school staff member and family friend. "People bent over backwards and stopped doing what they were doing, and we focused on the Ivory family in doing this for them. I think we all feel a sense of gratitude, being part of Nashua North and this family."

About a hundred people showed up, and among those in the front row that day was Larry Ivory.

Alexis wore her cap and gown and marched in a procession of school district officials to the strains of "Pomp and Circumstance." There were graduation speakers.

Especially touching were the comments of senior class President Victoria Grady, who directed her remarks from the podium to her classmate.

"We came together today because we care about you so much, and we wanted to take time for your family and friends to see how much of an impact you have made in your four years as a Titan," Grady said. "Through high school, you have faced adversity and managed to remain the positive person you really are through it all."

It is a credit to Victoria and her school that she somehow picked just the right thing to say at such a difficult time – choosing words that focused not on the underlying tragedy, but on the love that permeated the event.

We want the Ivory family – and their extended family at Nashua North – to know just how deeply they have touched the community.

By the time all is said and done, the story by Telegraph staff writer Don Himsel, "A Father’s Wish," will be the year’s most-read and most-shared story on our website. We heard from many readers who said they cried while reading the piece. We weren’t surprised; our editors cried while proofing it.

"It’s a special thing today. Special," Larry Ivory said when the ceremony was over and Alexis had graduated. "It’s been a long fight. They told me I’d live six months. I said no way. I’m not missing my last child’s graduation.

"That was almost 15 months ago," he added on that Friday. "We did it."

Larry Ivory died this past Thursday at home in the arms of his wife, Carole, and surrounded by family.

The story of the Ivorys is a profoundly sad one, but it is also about some things we all could use a lot more of – a family’s love, a community’s kindness and people being good to each other.

We felt privileged to be able to tell the story, and if it prompted readers to give those they love a hug for no reason at all and to tell them how much they love them, all the better.

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