Utah mother raising money for her own funeral has died

OGDEN, Utah (KTVX) – A Utah mother who began raising money for her own funeral after being diagnosed with a rare terminal cancer has died, according to her family.

Erika Carr, 30, was diagnosed with stage 4 small cell lung cancer the day before Mother's Day in 2022. Her condition had improved and she was able to stop treatment. Despite later resuming treatment, doctors told her in September that she had three months to live.

Carr, a single mother, decided to stop treatment and spend time with her children Jeremiah, 7, and Aaliyah, 5. She also started a GoFundMe to cover the costs of her own funeral, setting a modest goal of $5,000 with the hope that she would also have enough to leave for her children.

Previous coverage: A Utah mother was diagnosed with stage 4 small cell lung cancer and given just 3 months to live

As of October 13, more than $1.16 million has been raised.

Carr died last week, her cousin said in a social media post.

“She fought a long and hard battle,” the post read in part. “She was strong and held on as long as she could for her babies. I know she was so grateful for all of your support, love and prayers.”

Over 37,000 donations have been made to Carr's cause. She set up a trust fund before her death and said she was grateful her children would be well as they grew up.

“It happened overnight. I never expected that,” Carr told Nexstar’s KTVX in September. “I never thought there would be a big memorial service or that many people would come forward and help me. The way it went, I’m just in shock… just very grateful for everyone and everything that was there.”

Renisha Mall contributed to this report.

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