Courtney Fannon was weeks away from giving birth to her first child, but the world will never see little Hadley Jaye.
Fannon, a special education teacher at Kendall Central School near Rochester, died Friday along with her unborn child, according to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
The school was closed to students for a staff development day. Not long after Fannon sent a text to her husband, she was found in a school building, unresponsive after having collapsed.
Although she was taken to a hospital, she and her daughter were both pronounced dead that evening. No cause of death has been released.
‘UNEXPECTED LOSS’ Pregnant teacher Courtney Fannon’s school breaks silence after her sudden death at end of work dayhttps://t.co/L0RouMQPCz
— M York (@Christos430) March 14, 2024
“On Friday, March 8th, the world lost 2 beautiful souls, Courtney Fannon and Hadley Jaye Fannon, long before any of us were ready to live in a world without them,” family friend Matthew Smith wrote on a GoFundMe page. “They were called to eternal rest the night of March 8th, after a very tragic and unexpected turn of events.”
Smith said he founded the GoFundMe page to help Fannon’s husband, Kurtis, as he “is living mine, and many others, worst nightmare of having to return to a home, filled with baby toys, bottles, furniture and a finished nursery, that will no longer be filled with the cooing sounds and shuffling of a newborn.
“For those who did not have the wonderful opportunity to meet or get to know Courtney, there is an endless amount of positive and good things that can only be said about her. She was a special education teacher in the Kendall School District and was the perfect person to fill the role,” he wrote.
“She was loving, genuine and organized in a way that always placed her students ahead of herself, ultimately changing the lives of her students and caregivers, always for the positive,” he wrote.
Smith had a message to the child who left the world after barely gracing it.
“Hadley, although we never had the opportunity to meet you, see you grow up, and make great things out of yourself, I know that you will live on in all that your family does to ensure that the few breaths that you were able to take were not in vain and will not be forgotten,” he wrote.
“One so little, should not have the responsibility to look over their father, but with your mom’s guidance, I know that you will be prepared to send messages and signals that you are there watching, just as your mom would be prepared for everything,” he wrote.
Smith closed with messages for all involved in the tragedy.
“Courtney, this world has lost someone irreplaceable and kind hearted, there will never be another person that will fill the void that everyone feels at this moment. Hadley, to the sweet baby girl who never had the chance to live in this world. I find comfort in knowing that you did not go alone and that you will forever be looked after by your loving and caring mother,” he wrote.
“Kurtis, words cannot explain the perplexing events that took place and there is nothing that any of us can say to make the hurt go away, please stay strong and be the person that Courtney had worked hard on changing you into and keep Hadley in your heart, I know that she will remain in mine,” he wrote.
The district closed schools Monday and posted a message on its website from Kendall Central School District Superintendent Nicholas Picardo.
“We are saddened to share news of the unexpected loss of Courtney Fannon, a Kendall Elementary School teacher,” he wrote.
“Courtney was a special education teacher who served her students with passion and joy each day. When she wasn’t in her classroom sharing her love and gift for teaching with her students, she could be found walking our halls with a smile and a friendly hello,” he wrote.
