Teacher makes final request: She wants backpacks full of school supplies for needy students to be at her funeral

Posted: Jun 25, 2018 / 08:51 AM EDT

Updated: Jun 25, 2018 / 08:52 AM EDT

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – An elementary school teacher in Georgia made one final request before she died earlier this month of cancer: Instead of flowers, she wanted school supplies for needy students.

My cousin’s final request at her funeral was Backpacks full of supplies for needy students instead of flowers. A teacher to the end. @TeachersNet @edutopia @EdWeekTeacher pic.twitter.com/eGig25tYwH

— 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 (@DrBradJohnson) June 19, 2018

Photos posted to social media show backpacks lining the aisles at her funeral by friends honoring her wishes.

Tammy Waddell died at age 58 and was a teacher in Forsyth County, Ga., according to the BBC. He cousin, Brad Johnson, described her as a “teacher to the end” in a now-viral Twitter post.

Another image he posted shows Waddell’s honorary pallbearers standing outside a home lined up with backpacks.

“A Teachers final lesson is eternal,” Johnson said on Twitter. “My thought for the day… “Great Teachers Leave a Legacy.”