Utah mother raising money for her own funeral dies

A mother in Utah who started 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 carcinoma the day before Mother’s Day in 2022. Her condition had improved, allowing her to stop treatment. Despite later restarting treatment, doctors told her in September that she had three months to live.

Carr, a single mother, decided to end treatment and spend time with her children, Jeremiah, 7, and Aaliyah, 5. She also launched a GoFundMe to help 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 her children.

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

Carr passed away last week, her cousin explained in a post on social media.

“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 thankful for all of your support and love and prayers.”

There have been over 37,000 donations given to Carr’s cause. She created a trust fund before her passing, and she said she was thankful her children would be OK when they grow up.

“It happened overnight. I never expected that,” Carr told NewsNation affiliate KTVX in September. “I never expected to have a big funeral service, or a lot of people reach out and help me. With the way it’s went, I’m just in shock … just very grateful for everybody and everything that’s been there.”

Renisha Mall contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.