At the time, she was trying to keep her daughter double-covered in insurance by putting in 20 hours a week as a checker at Albertson's grocery store. Bethany's dad, Philip, still works as finance director for the city of St. George.

Bethany was in remission and off treatment by fall 1987. Her hair had grown back, and the girl was excited about returning to school. She'd bought all her new school clothes and was attending first grade at Sunset Elementary on the day her nose started bleeding and wouldn't stop.

Doctors confirmed acute monoblastic leukemia.

"I curled up on the bed and cried all day," Peterson said. "It tore at my heart. It's bad enough when they're babies, but now I had a 6-year-old saying to me, 'I don't want any more pokes.' She knew what she was in for."

The same day, Claudia's sister Cathy — hospitalized with terminal melanoma cancer the family believes is fallout-related — fell into a coma.

"The day my sister died, I crawled up on the hospital bed with Cathy and told her, 'You've got to come get Bethany when it's time to go.' She was in a coma, but I know she heard me."

Bethany watched everything intently at Aunt Cathy's funeral. The next week she talked about dying and seeing Jesus and dogs in heaven. With her sweet 6-year-old words, she comforted her mother.

She deteriorated quickly at the end. Her blood was poisoned. Doctors pumped blood and platelets into her as fast as they could. She was in excruciating pain.

The day before she died, Bethany had a 105-degree fever and tears bloody with the sepsis that eventually took her over. In a quiet moment, the girl looked past her mother sitting at her bedside. Her red eyes spotted something beyond. "Look Mom, there's Aunt Cathy dancing on the table."

The next day, Bethany was gone.

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E-mail: lucy@desnews.com