BRIDGETOWN — Christopher Maiorano was headstrong to the end.

        In July, doctors told the University of Cincinnati freshman he had cancer in several bones and probably wouldn't live much longer.

        He registered for the fall quarter anyway.

        When it became apparent he would be unable to attend classes, he decided to visit the shrine to Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Lourdes, France. It is said to impart miraculous cures. He hoped to gain at least mental and spiritual healing.

        The 19-year-old Bridgetown resident was en route to Lourdes, on a five-hour layover in Newark, N.J., when he took a turn for the worse.

        Although he reluctantly allowed himself to be transported to Trinitas Hospital in Elizabeth, N.J., he remained adamant that he would board that flight to France.

        He died at the hospital Tuesday.

        Mr. Maiorano was born in Springfield, Ohio, in 1983. His family moved to Bridgetown when he was about 12.

        He had a corny sense of humor — his mother said he drove her crazy with his puns — and was a loyal friend. At Oak Hills High School, he was a member of the wrestling and chess teams and the Junior Engineering and Technical Society.

        In November 1999, during his junior year, he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare tumor that filled his sinus cavities and pinched the optic nerve in his left eye, causing a loss of sight in it. He had to leave school while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, which shrunk the tumor enough for it to be surgically removed.

        His father, John N. Maiorano, said the teen went through months of agony during his treatment — but was able to keep up with his studies at home.

        Afterward, his family and doctors were optimistic that the remission would be permanent. He returned to Oak Hills and graduated with his class in 2001.

        That fall, Mr. Maiorano enrolled at UC's College of Engineering with scholarships from the university, the American Cancer Society and the state of Ohio. But in August, cancer was discovered in his lymph nodes.

        “He started chemotherapy when he started college,” said his father.

        Despite the disabling treatment, he made the dean's list for the fall. Surgery in January and radiation therapy in February limited him to taking only one class in the spring term, but he made the dean's list again.

        Then in July, it was discovered that the cancer had metastasized to his bones.

        “He had a week left of class, but he got an A on the final exam after getting the news,” his father said.

        “Christopher was a little stubborn. When he set his mind to something, he was going to do it. He didn't let the illness get in his way. He wouldn't let things get him down.”

        The teen spent August visiting relatives across the country.

        Although he had enrolled in fall classes, he had to withdraw at the last minute. The Knights of Malta, a Catholic organization, offered to send him to Lourdes — and he eagerly accepted the invitation.

        On that layover in New Jersey, his mother talked him into going to the hospital. En route, he insisted: “They're going to stabilize me, and we're getting on the plane.”

        A member of St. Jude Parish in Bridgetown, Mr. Maiorano spent his Wednesday evenings serving at a soup kitchen.

        The Children's Wish Foundation sent him to Cleveland to meet his favorite entertainer — rock star Ozzy Osbourne.

        In addition to his father, survivors include: his mother, Linda Lowe Maiorano; two brothers, Daniel and Anthony Maiorano; and two grandparents, John F. and Carol Maiorano of Enon, Ohio.

        Visitation is 3-7 p.m. Sunday at Meyer Funeral Home, 5864 Bridgetown Road, Bridgetown. Mass of Christian burial is 10 a.m. Monday at St. Jude Church, 5928 Bridgetown Road. Burial is at Mary, Help of Christians Cemetery in Fairborn, Ohio.

        Memorials: Leukemia Lymphoma Society, 105 W. Fourth St., Cincinnati 45202; or the American Cancer Society, 11117 Kenwood Road, Cincinnati 45242.

Hagan lectures boycott leader
Rainfall from Isidore helps quench drought
Middletown hospital picks new campus site
Author of 'hit' note found
Anderson YMCA celebrates 30 years
Another court strikes down anti-drug zone
Board's makeup in dispute
Children's debuts tech treatment
Deputy on the mend
New K.I. ride may result in 'delirium'
Obituary: C. Maiorano, 19, died on the way to Lourdes
Street named for riverfront 'visionary'
Tristate A.M. Report
BRONSON: They're sorry
SMITH AMOS: Recruiting from school
Hamilton gets ready to rally
Marketing plan pleases suburbs
New church will be a 'sermon in stone'
Boxer Mike Tyson wants tax money back
Former aide to Traficant sentenced for perjury
Col. Sanders he isn't - but it's close
Conner lawyer talking to feds
Court says deputy merit boards OK
Kentucky News Briefs
New radar system to warn of incursions