But after Julie lost her life to brain cancer, Denton put himself through months of training to take part in last year’s Angels Among Us 5K and Family Fun Walk. He lifted weights, hit the treadmill and ate healthy. It was his way of honoring his late wife, who had taught fifth grade at Cleveland Elementary School, “When she died, I said I would run that race for Julie,” Denton said on April 24, one day before taking part in this year’s race. “I did not come close to winning. I did it in 28 minutes and 28 seconds. I finished 272 out of 740. My goal this year is 26 minutes, but we’ll see.”

Nearly 40 people joined the “Jogging for Julie” team for this year’s Angels Among Us, which has raised $1 million for cancer research. Last year, Lee family members raised $300 in memory of Julie. Denton and his mother, Jane Lee, expect the team to bring in $3,500 this year.

“Julie touched a lot of lives,” Jane Lee said. “When you stand in a receiving line for over four hours and watch fifth-graders sobbing and their parents sobbing. ... One little boy came up and said, ‘Mr. Lee, I made the honor roll this time just because of your wife teaching me and having the patience to work with me the way she did.’ A little fifth-grade boy was telling a grown man this through sobs and sobs and sobs.”

On the Sunday after the race, David Bailey, a musician and songwriter from Virginia, honored Julie with a free concert at Holland United Methodist Church in Raleigh. Doctors told Bailey he had a malignant brain tumor and would be dead in four months. That was 12 years ago. His tumor returned in November 2008, but he is undergoing chemotherapy.

Cancer has not stopped Bailey from pursuing his music career. He has released 19 albums and performed in 21 countries and 44 states. Bailey’s story has been featured on popular television shows, including “60 Minutes” and “48 Hours,” and in dozens of newspapers and magazines.

Strumming the guitar, Bailey sang about finding hope in the darkest times, keeping faith in God and loving one another. He referenced Starbucks coffee in one song, his favorite guilty pleasure. Many listeners found it hard not to shed a tear as they remembered Julie and other loved ones.

“My philosophy is pretty simple,” Bailey said before the concert. “When people ask me to play, I say yes, and in the brain tumor world, I have a special tenderness for people who are dealing with that. If my music can provide any type of solace or inspiration or encouragement or peace, then I am honored to be a part of it.”

Jane Lee said it took her a long time to listen to Bailey’s music after Julie died. “The first song I really got wrapped around was like, ‘Oh my gosh, he gets it. He gets it,’” she said. “This man, he goes straight to the heart. His words go straight to the heart.”

“He sings as if he’s a very optimistic survivor,” Denton added. “No matter what, he is an optimistic survivor looking at the good in life.”

Watching Julie battle cancer was tough, especially when everyone thought she had beat the odds, family said. At 28, Julie began feeling dizzy and losing her balance. Doctors believed she had nothing more than a virus until a CAT scan found a tumor on her brain. On Dec. 14, 2006, she had the tumor removed. Treatment took a toll on Julie. She underwent radiation and chemotherapy for nearly a year. But after getting a clean bill of health, Julie was ready to start working again on April 2, 2007. Denton remembered how excited Julie was to go back to her students. She called everyone she knew to give them the good news.

But the good news did not last long. Julie started to get tired and confused again. She worked up until Christmas break. Two days after Christmas, doctors found a new tumor on Julie’s brain. This time, doctors were unable to do surgery. Julie tried chemotherapy once but was too weak for more treatment. She died on Feb. 6, 2008, four months shy of her 30th birthday.

“She held on a lot longer than any of us anticipated,” Jane said. “That is how strong she was. Denton took care of her, and he took his marriage vows so seriously because it was in sickness and in health.”

At first, Julie was angry about the tumor, but she eventually found peace with her disease. “The biggest thing I remember about Julie, from the 14 months she lived after she was diagnosed, was how faithful she got,” Denton said. “She didn’t change the person she was. It’s like she added the God piece. She was very faithful. She was a role model to a lot of people as far as how she hugged God, instead of pushed him away.”

Besides her husband of four years, Julie also left behind her daughter, Caroline. “That little girl was two years and eight months old when she passed away,” Jane said. “She helped feed Julie and brushed her hair. She remembers her mother quite well though. She is a very smart little girl.”

Losing Julie, especially at such a young age, felt like the loss of her own child, Jane said. “I always said I wanted four children,” she said. “I had a son and daughter, and the second son came to me through my daughter’s marriage, and my second daughter came to me through my son’s marriage. That is the way I treat them, like they have always been my children.”

Denton hopes their efforts to raise money for cancer research will spare others the agony and grief his family endured. “My goal is to help them find a cure,” he said.

To donate money in memory of Julie Lee, send a check to The Tisch Brain Tumor Center — Angels, Duke University Medical Center, DUMC Box 3624, Durham, N.C. 27710. Make the check payable to “Duke University - 09BT” with Julie Lee in the memo line. More information is available at angelsamongus.org or joggingforjulie.com.