New York private school teacher Courtney Fannon spent some of the last moments of her life at the school and collapsed shortly after sending a quick text message to her husband on Friday.

Fannon spent that day like any other at Kendall Central School, gathering her thoughts and materials before heading home.

All Kendall Central teachers were on campus that day completing professional development training. The school was closed to students that day, district spokesman Steve Dawe told USA TODAY Thursday.

Minutes after sending the message to her husband, she was found unconscious in a school building, Matthew Smith, a close friend of the couple, wrote on GoFundMe.

Fannon, who was pregnant with her first daughter, Hadley Jaye, was taken to a local hospital where life-saving measures were initiated for both mother and daughter. They died later that evening.

“The world lost two beautiful souls, Courtney Fannon and Hadley Jaye Fannon, long before any of us were ready to live in a world without them. They were called to eternal rest on the night of March 8th after a very tragic and unexpected turn of events,” the GoFundMe post reads.

Funds raised through GoFundMe, which total around $47,623 as of Wednesday, will be used to cover all final expenses, including medical bills and funeral costs, and to keep Fannon’s husband Kurtis afloat in the short term.

School district closes school Monday and issues statement following Fannon’s death

All public schools in Kendall remained closed to students on Monday, including Kendall Central School, where Fannon has taught special education since 2018.

“Courtney was a special education teacher who cared for her students with passion and joy every day,” said a message from district superintendent Nicholas Picardo.

“When she wasn’t in the classroom sharing her love and gift for teaching with her students, she could be seen walking through our hallways with a smile and a friendly hello,” Picardo said.

Picardo said they were “sad to share the news,” adding they would “announce details of support for our larger community in the coming days.”

Counselors were on-site Tuesday for any students and staff who needed support during this difficult time, the statement said.

“We ask that you respect the family’s privacy at this time. We have provided information through ParentSquare for caregivers who may need a resource to help children cope with feelings of grief.”

The community comes together to express its condolences and support to the family of the “special” educator

Smith, who organized the fundraiser on behalf of Kurt Fannon, hopes the event will ease some of the burdens left behind “after this devastating news.”

“Not only did Kurtis have to make final preparations for Courtney and Hadley, but he was also living my and many others’ worst nightmare: returning to a home filled with baby toys, bottles, furniture, and a finished nursery that would no longer be filled with the coos and rolling of a newborn,” he writes.

According to Smith, there are endless good and positive things to say about Courtney.

“She was a special education teacher in the Kendall School District and was the perfect person for the job. She was loving, genuine and organized, always making her students more important than herself. In doing so, she ultimately made a difference in the lives of her students and staff, always for the better.”

A funeral mass for Courtney and Hadley Jaye Fannon will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 16, at St. Vincent DePaul Church in Churchville, New York, The US Sun reports.

The family has asked people to send donations in Fannon and Hadley’s names to Homestead for Hope, a “nonprofit, inclusive community farm in Rochester, New York, where people with and without disabilities can learn, work, live and grow in nature’s classroom.”

“She was selfless and it breaks my heart for those who knew her best, as I have only gotten to know her through Kurtis over the past decade,” Smith wrote.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New York mourns death of teacher Courtney Fannon and her unborn baby