Deputy Justin Hancock Loses Battle With Cancer at Age 33

Justin Hancock, 33, of Valrico was diagnosed with bone cancer in June and underwent treatment at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. A Deputy with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's office, Hancock bought a small fixer-upper home two weeks before he was diagnosed, according to his friend, Deputy Jim Brodie.

On Sunday, April 9, Hancock lost his battle with cancer. He is survived by his parents, Garry and Kathy Hancock, his sister, Courtney Rankin (Mitchell), his niece, Charley according to serenitymeadows.com.

The posting on the website says"Justin died as he lived; with humor, valor and grace." 

A former minor league baseball player from the Greater Brandon area, Hancock was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels when he graduated from Florida Southern College. His father, Gary Hancock, played for the Angels and Boston Red Sox from 1979-84. Justin Hancock joined the sheriff’s office five years ago.

Hancock worked in the sheriff’s office District 4. The largest district in the county in size, Hancock helped cover the area south of Causeway Boulevard to Manatee County, west to Tampa and east to the Polk County line.

Read more about what Hancock's friends said about him during a fundraiser at O'Brein's Irish Pub.

The posting also says that "the Hancock family asks that donations be made in the memory of Deputy Justin Hancock, to the HCSO Lynn Sowers Memorial Foundation, a 503C non-profit corporation at P.O. Box 270441, Tampa, FL 33688."