Jamie Herwehe, a close family friend of Reaves', launched the GoFundMe campaign last week, with donations slated to go toward covering funeral costs and supporting Reaves' husband and children, CNN reported.
"For those of you who didn't have the pleasure of knowing Michelle, she will always be known for the love she had for her family," Herwehe wrote on the campaign page. "Michelle has the best, most sarcastic, funny personality and always had you laughing."
Herwehe said Reaves was acting for the second time as a surrogate for a family when "one complication led to the next." She died during childbirth, but Herwehe said the baby she was carrying survived.
"I can’t even begin to imagine what her husband Chris and her two babies are going through," Herwehe wrote. "No one deserves to lose their mama so young or the mother of their children."
Reaves was survived by her husband and their children, Gage and Monroe, Herwehe said.
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