Funeral services have been announced for Paige Fannon, the 35-year-old West Islip woman whose body was discovered last week in the Norwalk River in Connecticut.
Visitation will be held at Fredrick J. Chapey & Sons Funeral Home in West Islip at 1225 Montauk Highway on Sunday, March 16, with sessions from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. A prayer service is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Fannon’s body was recovered Thursday after Wilton, Connecticut, police contacted Norwalk officers requesting drone assistance to help locate a missing person. Norwalk police responded to Schenck’s Island off Ridgefield Road, where they discovered clothing and personal items near the riverbank, and later used a drone to find Fannon’s body.
The community’s response to Fannon’s passing has been profound. A GoFundMe campaign established by Jade Batsche to assist the family with expenses related to Fannon’s passing has raised nearly $14,000 from almost 200 donations.
“If you had the honor of knowing Paige, you would know how deeply she cared for who she loved,” Batsche wrote on the fundraising page. “You would know how strong she would fight for you, when you were down.”
Family and friends have shared poignant memories of Fannon’s vibrant personality.
“It’s still weird talking to you like you’re not just around the corner anymore,” wrote her sister, Heather Freyer. “I don’t think this will ever sink in. I’m going to miss us dying laughing at literally everything together.”
“Paige, you lit up a room the second you walked in, your energy, your smile, your laugh was so contagious it made it impossible to not want to be around you,” her friend Lexei wrote on the funeral home’s obituary page for Fannon.
Lexei also shared a lighthearted memory of their travel adventures together in the Bahamas.
Earlier tributes included one from Fannon’s friend Kristen Curto-Buckley, who wrote on Facebook: “This is so devastating! I am so sorry Paige. You will be truly missed! I will forever cherish our memories at the salon. They were some of the best years ever!”
Fannon is survived by her parents, two sisters, a brother, and many extended family members.
