Hurricane Helene Survivor Dies of Suspected Heart Attack, Family Tried to Call 911 but Had No Service

A North Carolina woman died of a suspected heart attack shortly after Hurricane Helene hit, her family said.

Shirley Rotolo, 55, of Weaverville, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, per a published obituary. Her husband, Renato Rotolo, told NBC affiliate WRAL that his wife had a heart attack early that morning. 

“We went to bed, and I thought she was having a nightmare at 2 a.m.,” Renato recalled, per the outlet. “I went to the other room. I tried to make a phone call to 911 [and] the emergency line; nothing. I went back, and we felt there was no pulse already.”

He also told WRAL that he tried to get Shirley to the hospital, but fallen trees and damaged roads caused by Helene made it difficult for them to pass until it was too late. 

Renato believed the stress from the storm took a toll on his wife, telling WRAL that “it all really got to her.”

According to her obituary, Shirley was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., before moving to Weaverville, which is about 10 miles north of Asheville, one of the areas hardest hit by Helene.

"My mom was a saint, and the light of my family," Shirley's daughter Nausica tells PEOPLE in a statement on Oct. 9. "She was, is and will forever be loved by every child, student, friend and stranger that witnessed her."

"I think her heart was too big for this world and I know she is at peace now, probably nourishing a world of her own and forever inspiring the people she left behind," Nausica added.

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Shirley had been a teacher for over 27 years — most recently at Odyssey Community School, where she taught kindergarten and French, per her obituary. Additionally, Shirley authored two children’s books. 

“Everyone who knew Shirley knew how much she loved to make art, write, and tend to her garden,” read the obituary, adding that she “will forever be remembered for being kind, generous, and loving. Family, friends, and students will live on with the care, knowledge, positivity, and strength that she has bestowed upon them.” 

Shirley is survived by husband Renato and her three children, including Nausica, the obituary noted.

A GoFundMe was launched to raise money to pay for Shirley’s funeral expenses and the repairs to her family’s home.

Nausica recalls a special memory shared by her father about her mother and garden.

"Her garden was beautiful," Nausica tells PEOPLE. "Always florishing with tomatoes, basil, figs, squash, eggplant and so many other nourishing foods. She had flowers as well, lillies, irises, daisies but especially roses, that she had planted in honor of her mother who passed away around the same age as her. My father said he often overheard her speaking to her garden. She said it helped her plants grow and with the way her garden was, I'm sure it wasn't just the warmth of the sun or rain that kept her plants prospering."

To learn more about how to help with relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts from Hurricane Helene, click here.