'DWTS' 's Witney Carson's Father-in-Law Dies After 2-Year Battle with Pancreatic Cancer

"After two long years of battling, & fighting tremendously... our sweet Kevin passed away last night," Witney Carson announced on Instagram Friday

Witney Carson has a new guardian angel: her father-in-law.

The Dancing with the Stars pro announced Friday in a heartbreaking Instagram post that her husband Carson McAllister’s father, Kevin, had died Thursday evening after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

“After two long years of battling, & fighting tremendously… our sweet Kevin passed away last night,” she captioned a photo of herself and her husband flanking Kevin. “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. We’re so grateful for the time we’ve had with him on this earth, & we know he’s in a better place.”

Witney, 24, continued, “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? & then I remember the Plan of Salvation, to know we will see him again… and that gives me peace.”

“I know Kevin is getting our kids ready to come down to meet us- he’s probably spinning them around on the floor right now, over and over again until they cry of laughter!” she said. “We know you’ll be there when we can’t see you or hold you- lift us up when we have moments of trouble and heartache. Our guardian angel. We love you Kev. Until we meet again ❤”

In mid-December, the professional dancer announced that she would not be not be participating in the DWTS Live! winter tour because her father-in-law’s battle with cancer had worsened.

“My sweet father-in-law has been dealing with pancreatic cancer for the last year and a half. A few days ago he was having stomach issues & was unable to keep anything down. His doctors decided to do an exploratory surgery to find the problem, which we thought was just a minor issue. Unfortunately, we were completely wrong,” Witney wrote.

“The cancer has spread throughout his entire abdomen. We are so blindsided and still in shock… The doctors have explained there is nothing that they can do and have told us that we only have a few weeks with him before the cancer takes his life,” she shared. “After much heartache and discussion, Kevin has decided to fight it and try another aggressive chemotherapy treatment.”

She shared that it was an ” extraordinarily difficult time” for their family, adding, “I hope all of you can understand that my place is here with my family.”

The DWTS Mirrorball champion wed her high school sweetheart during a three-part celebration in the Salt Lake City area on New Year’s Day in 2016.

In a Valentine’s Day vlog shared in February, Witney and her husband opened up about the keys to their happy marriage — and when they hope to have kids!

“What’s important to me in a good relationship would be probably service. That shows true love and also builds the love that’s already there,” said Carson, who also noted “putting each other first, definitely.”

While the couple hopes to one day grow their family, they aren’t in any rush to have kids.

“We don’t know, but we just kind of have to play it by ear because everything’s so crazy right now. It’s like we’re not really settled at all. But we do want kids,” said Witney, who praised Carson as “a kid magnet.”

As for how many children the pair is hoping for, she said, “I think we want three or four, would be a safe number to say.”