Residents of Burien's Blakely Manor neighborhood, just west of Sea-Tac International Airport, are mourning the loss of a dedicated community leader.

Becky Haggland beat cancer once, but died May 14 after the lethal disease reoccurred.

Haggland had been an active community member in the neighborhood since she and her husband, Paul, moved there in 1991.

She was block watch captain for 15 years and spent seven years training Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) assistance dogs with help from her two daughters, Amy Haggland and Cate Zaragoza. The family spent one year with each assistance dog and just finished training their seventh last summer.

"She was very devoted to her family and very caring about her neighbors, so much that she took on the block watch program," said neighbor Jean Hale.

Through block watch, Haggland kept the neighborhood informed about nearby robberies or any kind of crime by going house to house and passing out fliers.

"I've never seen anything like it," Hale continued. "Our car was stolen once and the police called us, so she put that information together, put it in a flyer."

In addition to block watch and training assistance dogs, Haggland also took a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training class from Community Service Officer Nicki Maraulja of the King County Sherriff's Department in Burien. When Haggland completed the class, Hale went to her graduation.

Also, every August Haggland used to throw a well-attended Neighborhood Night Out barbeque in her yard, according to neighbor Nancy Hayes.

Then, in November 2003, Haggland found out she had cancer in her right tonsil. At the time, her youngest daughter Amy was a high school senior.

"She had chemo a couple times, but the chemo made her extremely ill, so they just skipped the chemo and just did the radiation. And she was clear until about November of last year," Amy said.

Later, at a routine checkup, Haggland found out she had cancer in her right jaw bone, which was caused by her radiation treatment from the first cancer.

"Bone cancer pretty much isn't really treatable, not this kind of bone cancer anyway. It gets to the bone marrow and it pretty much travels like fish," Amy noted.

One effect the cancer had was making Haggland's face swell so that she had trouble seeing.

Haggland had to retire as block watch captain because of the cancer and she passed the role on to a neighbor across the street.

"Recently, the Burien police gave Haggland a certificate of appreciation for her job as block watch captain, devotion and caring. They came to the house," Hale said. "But she couldn't see them, you know, that day. She did her best."

Amy took a semester off from Washington State University in Pullman this year to come home and be with her mom.

Haggland's eldest daughter, Zaragoza, has a son, Brennan, who turned 3 on April 22.

"She didn't think that she would live to see him born, when she got cancer. So, this (was) really wonderful for her," Hale said.

Haggland worked 39 years as a ticket agent for Northwest Airlines before retiring earlier this year. Paul is a retired pilot.

Last summer, the Hagglands took one last vacation together in Alaska before her cancer relapsed.

Hale said that the whole time Haggland had cancer she never complained, but when the time came she was ready to go.

In March, Paul created a CaringBridge Web site for his wife where he started writing about her every day. He still writes in memory of her.