Little girl given early Christmas by family, friends and Fresno community has died at age 6

A little girl who received an early Christmas celebration last month from family, friends and community members in Fresno has died.

Arianna Jasso was 6 at the end of a months-long fight with a deadly tumor.

“It is with great sadness that I inform you all that Arianna has passed away,” Ronnie Duvall, who helped organize the holiday celebration on Nov. 21, wrote in an email relayed to media on Monday night.

Arianna was diagnosed July 20 with a brain tumor called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), which carried a life expectancy post-diagnosis of six to nine months.

Christmas was her favorite holiday but family feared she would not make it to Dec. 25.

And so Arianna was the guest of honor for the celebration at Woodward Park, which included a limousine ride, a parade down a Christmas light-decorated path and gifts that included a pink miniature ride-on jeep.

Local groups involved included those from law enforcement and other first-responders, with the help of the city of Fresno.

“I want to again thank each and every one of you plus many more who made the early Christmas for Arianna so special,” Duvall wrote Sunday in his email. “Her young family as well as your community felt the love everyone offered for this adorable little 6-year-old.

“I was and will always feel honored to have you all join me in making these memories for the family.”