Former Angels Cheerleader Dies in Aliso Viejo

Aliso Viejo resident and former Los Angeles Angels cheerleader Heather Beyer died Saturday from a rare form of breast cancer, according to news reports. She was 27. 

The Orange County native was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer early last year. Two weeks ago, she left the hospital for hospice care at home, where she could be surrounded by friends and family.

Beyer joined the Angels' Strike Force Spirit Squad in 2007 and was a Newport Harbor High School cheer coach from 2004 to 2008. She began coaching at Tesoro High School in 2009, the same year she married Nate Beyer, an Orange County Sheriff's Department deputy.

They got engaged at Disneyland and married in July 2009, with nine cheerleaders as bridesmaids.

During her last few weeks, Beyer attended an Angels game and got the word "Hallelujah'' tattooed on her.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Beyer is survived by her husband, Nate, her parents, Marc and Kari Hoefnagels and Margaret and Bill Thompson, and nine brothers and sisters, according to a report in the Orange County Register.

— City News Service