By Davan 
Joe Smith, the father to six-year-old Joules Smith, said his daughter died in the early hours of December 9, 2024. The dad and his wife, Elisha Smith, had taken a break from social media to spend each moment with Joules before she passed away.
Joules had been diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), earlier this year. This brain tumor is incurable and Joules was only given nine months to live.
A heartbroken Joe shared in a clip on TikTok the sad news that she succumbed to this illness. “Our beautiful little dancing queen passed away,” he said in the video captioned, “We love you our little dancing queen 💕.”
Joules died in her parents’ bed surrounded by her loving mom and dad. Joe is so proud to be Joules’s dad, whom he described as “an absolute inspiration to everyone.” The TikToker’s parents take comfort in the joy their daughter brought to millions of people online.
When she was diagnosed with the brain tumor, her dad took to TikTok, notifying his followers that their world had been turned upside down. Joe shared that they first noticed a few odd things about Joules and took her to the hospital, where doctors told them their daughter had a mass on her brain.
Joe and his wife were asked to take their daughter to King’s College Hospital in London, where they learned that the mass on Joules’s brain was an aggressive form of cancer. This marked the start of Joules’s journey with an inoperable and terminal childhood illness. Her parents also had to come to terms with the fact that at some point they were going to lose their daughter.
Joe said at the time that Joules would undergo treatment to ease her symptoms but they wouldn’t stop the inevitable “She will start to deteriorate and we have got to sit back and watch our beautiful funny little girl fade away,” he noted, tearfully.
Joe described Joules as his best friend and dance partner, expressing that he couldn’t imagine life without her. He vowed to spend every moment with her and ensure she had the best time of her life—a promise he upheld until her final moments.
After Joules was diagnosed with DIPG, a friend of the family, Kirk Norcross, took the initiative to open a GoFundMe page. Kirk shared that the family’s life has been put on hold as they dedicate every moment to Joules, prioritizing making her remaining time as beautiful as possible.
Therefore, he set up the GoFundMe page to provide support and help ease their burden during this challenging period. Kirk wrote, “We do understand that times are hard but anything will help any money that is raised on this page will go to the Smith family directly to make sure that they are coping and Joules has everything that she needs ❤️.”
The page raised over $120,000 and Joe has thanked everyone for their financial support. He was also grateful to everyone who shared their videos that raised awareness of childhood cancer ever since he disclosed Joules’ brain tumor diagnosis on May 27.
TikTokers even created an ongoing trend dubbed “Dancing for Joules,” which is a way to spread knowledge of childhood terminal illnesses. Joe urged his fans, “Please, if you are going to do anything, please let’s carry on dancing for our beautiful little Joules because I know she would still be dancing.” Joules’ dad also promised to continue with this task even with his daughter’s demise.
Now, Joe has sent his gratitude to fans, followers, friends, and close family members who supported them through this difficult time. “We couldn’t have done it without you,” he noted. He was thankful to the healthcare professionals who took care of Joules, allowing them to have seven months of dancing, joy, and laughter, amidst the challenging diagnosis.
Joules’ mom, Elisha, has also thanked everyone who supported them throughout the seven difficult months. She posted her daughter’s picture on Instagram and penned an emotional tribute, “We are so proud of your princess you made this world a better place…we are absolutely heartbroken.”
Elisha and her husband have welcomed everyone to Joules’ send-off, which is scheduled for December, 27 at The Garden of Eden Crematorium in Kent, England. Joe has encouraged others to join the family to give their daughter the biggest and best send-off adding that Joules was the “bravest, kindest, most beautiful little girl, and we miss her so much.”