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'DWTS' pro Witney Carson mourns her father-in-law: 'We know he's in a better place'

After leaving the "Dancing With the Stars" winter tour to be with her family, Carson revealed Friday that her father-in-law lost his battle with cancer.
/ Source: TODAY

"Dancing With the Stars" Pro Witney Carson stepped off the dance floor this past December to focus on her family. After spending the winter with her sick father-in-law, Carson shared the heartbreaking news with fans on Instagram Friday that he passed away.

“After two long years of battling, & fighting tremendously ... our sweet Kevin passed away last night,” the dancer wrote in her post, alongside a photo of her husband, Carson McAllister, and her father-in-law, Kevin.

McAllister was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2016. In December, the family was shocked to learn that the cancer had spread through his entire abdomen.

With her husband's support, the 'DWTS' star revealed the family’s health struggle publicly last year, announcing that she would not participate in the show's winter tour.

“This is an extraordinarily difficult time for us, I hope all of you can understand that my place is here with my family,” she wrote in December. “Right now, my focus needs to be on my family & especially on my husband.”

Carson, 24, and her husband have known each other since middle school and got married two years ago.

“It's hard not to think, why does my husband have to live without his dad? Why do my kids not ever get to know their Poppy?” she grieved in her post Friday.

Despite her heartache, the Utah native credits her faith for carrying her through the trauma.

“Although it will be excruciatingly painful at times to live without him, we know he lives on around us being our guardian angel wherever we go,” Carson wrote. “We're so grateful for the time we've had with him on this earth, & we know he's in a better place.”