A pregnant teacher at a rural school district in upstate New York died after collapsing suddenly in her classroom just four weeks before she was expected to give birth to her daughter.
According to USA Today, 29-year-old Courtney Fannon, who worked as a special-ed teacher at Kendal Central School, was found unresponsive after she suddenly collapsed in her classroom last Friday. While no students were at the school last Friday, Kendall Central School teachers were participating in various professional development trainings throughout the day.
USA Today reported that the 29-year-old teacher collapsed shortly after sending an undisclosed text message to her husband, Kurtis. After Fannon was discovered unconscious, the special-ed teacher was transported to the hospital, where doctors unsuccessfully attempted to save both her and her unborn daughter, Hadley Jaye. The cause of Fannon’s death has not yet been released.
“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,” Matt Smith, a close friend of Fannon’s husband, wrote in a post on a GoFundMe page that was set up for the family. “They were called to eternal rest the night of March 8th, after a very tragic and unexpected turn of events.”
In his post on the GoFundMe page, which had raised $81,082 as of this Friday, Smith explained that the 29-year-old teacher and her husband were expecting their first child “in just 4 short weeks.” He said the couple had been together for 10 years before getting married in August of 2022.
Smith Fannon’s husband is currently living the “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.”
In light of Fannon’s sudden death, all Kendall Public Schools were closed on Monday. According to USA Today, Fannon had been a special education teacher at Kendall Central School since 2018.
“Courtney was a special education teacher who served her students with passion and joy each day,” Kendall District Superintendent Nicholas Picardo said in a message online. “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.”
Pictures shared by the New York Post on X, formerly Twitter, show the 29-year-old teacher pregnant with her unborn child alongside her husband Kurtis.
