Kelly Jo Dowd, mom of 14-year-old golf sensation Dakoda Dowd, died of breast cancer in her Palm Harbor, Fla. home Thursday night. She was 42.

Dowd spent years battling the disease that had spread to her bones, liver, and brain. She also spent years waiting to see her young daughter play in an LPGA event. Her wish came true last spring.

"I'm prouder today than I was yesterday that my daughter has the courage and strength to play with these LPGA professionals," Dowd said after the Ginn Clubs & Resorts LPGA tournament. "And I feel great right now. I feel great. My dream came true out here."

Dowd, former Hooters Calendar Cover Girl and the only woman to climb the restaurant's corporate ladder from waitress to general manager, chose to go public with her cancer story to convince women everywhere to be vigilant about self-exams and screening. Dowd had ignored a lump in her breast for several months before her eventual diagnosis.

"I did something pretty stupid," she said in a 2006. "And the only way that I can let myself feel better about it is if I know that people can learn from our situation."

The Dowd family, involved with groups like MakingMemories.org, which grants wishes to people who have been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, will honor their brave hero at a memorial service on Tuesday at Sylvan Abbey Funeral Home in Clearwater, Fla.

Previous Cancer Blog posts about Kelly Jo Dowd are as follows:

Hooters: $1 million in honor of calendar girl Kelly Jo Dowd
Young teen plays in LPGA for dying mom
Dakoda Dowd phenom golfer walks away due to cancer