In a poignant turn of events, a devoted New England Patriots fan passed away just weeks after receiving an extraordinary gift from team owner Robert Kraft—tickets to attend this year’s Super Bowl.

Shelly Sepulveda, 42, succumbed to a two-year struggle with ovarian cancer on Monday. Her passing came mere hours after celebrating the Patriots’ victory over the Denver Broncos, which secured their place in Super Bowl LX. The heartbreaking news was shared on a GoFundMe page created to aid her grieving family.

“Shelly was cherished by many, and her absence has created an immeasurable void in the hearts of her family and friends,” the GoFundMe page expressed, underscoring the profound impact of her loss.

It went on to highlight the unexpected nature of her passing and the financial strain that has compounded the already overwhelming sorrow faced by her loved ones.

Sepulveda, a mother to six children, had been battling stage 3 ovarian cancer since her diagnosis in 2024, as reported by Boston 25.

On Jan. 11, Kraft gifted the former NICU nurse — who had undergone chemotherapy the week before — tickets to Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara, California, on the field at Gillette Stadium following New England’s Wild Card playoff win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Moments before receiving the tickets, Sepulveda told Kraft that her love for the organization had helped her endure some of the most difficult moments of her illness.

“When I’m here I don’t think about cancer, I watch the Patriots,” she told Kraft in a video posted on the Patriots X account.

Sepulveda fought back tears of joy as Kraft presented the tickets on behalf of himself and his wife, Dana Kraft.

“That means so much to me,” she said as she gently held his hand, adding that she has been battling cancer for the past two years.

Sepulveda was hospitalized days later, on Jan. 17, with “low blood counts,” her wife, Tami Sepulveda, shared on Facebook.

Tami Sepulveda wrote Monday that Sepulveda “tried as hard as she could to stay here, she is a fighter and now our angel watching down on us.”

“I’m just numb from pain it’s so hard, but I know how much she was loved! She was truly the best wife and mother and friend we will miss her so so very much,” Tami Sepulveda wrote. “Rest in peace now Shelly, I Love you.”

During their more than 23 years together, the couple fostered more than 20 children whose parents were battling substance abuse. The couple adopted five children and also shared a biological son.

Before her death, Sepulveda described her illness as a “constant battle.”

“It is survivorship and fighting for my life,” Sepulveda told Boston 25 last year. “There’s a lot of people going through cancer that don’t have the support. And I do, and I’m lucky. I’m lucky I have the friends and family I have.”

Sepulveda said her children were her motivation to keep fighting.

“I’m not a quitter, and I don’t want my kids to think I’m a quitter,” she said. “But I want them to know it’s also okay for them to ask for help.”

Since its launch in December 2024, the GoFundMe to support her family has raised more than $34,000 as of Wednesday morning.