ESPNBy Matt Clapp on

ESPN reporter Edward Aschoff passed away on Tuesday — Christmas Eve — on his 34th birthday after a month-long battle with pneumonia.

Aschoff’s fiancée, Katy Berteau, tweeted a touching tribute in a thread from his account on Thursday, and provided more details about his passing and upcoming services.

Here’s the thread:

Hi everyone, this is Katy Berteau, Edward’s fiancé. I want to say thank you to everyone who has expressed their sympathies, condolences, and prayers for me and his family and friends.

The outpouring of love, admiration, and gratitude for his life have been so incredible, and have helped me through these last few days. It has brought me brief moments of joy in this darkness to see all the pictures, videos, and memories of all the lives he touched.

I couldn’t be more proud that the one thing people are talking about most was his ability to lift them up with his energy, light, and that all-encompassing smile.

I also want to take this opportunity to provide more clarity about his passing. As a journalist, it was of the utmost importance to him that stories be accurate.

Edward was admitted to the hospital a week after our first visit to the ER, where he was diagnosed with multifocal pneumonia. After failed antibiotic treatment, with worsening of symptoms, we took him back to the ER and he was immediately admitted.

After many tests – bone marrow and lung biopsies – treatment was started for a presumed diagnosis of HLH, an unregulated, over-activation of the immune system that causes it to attack itself and other healthy tissues. Within 3 days of being moved into the ICU, he passed.

I want to share the brightness that he showed, even up until the last day he was awake. He kept the doctors and nurses constantly laughing, and always made a point to thank them and tell them what a great job they were doing.

He also loved Christmas so much that, even from the ICU, he was coordinating with my friend about wrapping my presents so I could be surprised.

He loved people with his entire being.

We are still working on the details for his services, but there will be a small memorial in Oxford, MS, and a main service will be held in Atlanta, GA. I will share details as soon as I can.

Thank you all again for loving him as much as he loved you.

With appreciation, Edward’s Fiancé, Katy Berteau

Aschoff graduated from the University of Florida in 2008, and quickly landed a job with The Gainesville Sun to cover Gators sports. In 2011, he joined ESPN to cover the SEC, and his role grew with ESPN over the last few years.

On Dec. 2, Aschoff posted on Instagram about how it was “a lot of fun” to cover the Ohio State-Michigan game for ESPN, but revealed that he came down with pneumonia.

And he tweeted more details on Dec. 5.

Tributes and heartfelt reactions have been pouring in from the sports and journalism communities after the heartbreaking news. ESPN released a statement on Christmas Eve, and announced the news during the Hawaii Bowl and SportsCenter that night.

[Photo: @ZachAbolverdi]

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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