San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and his wife, Claire Kittle, were dealt a tragic blow as the couple lost one of their closest friends. Kari Pekar had been dealing with a long battle with cancer. She and Claire first met at the University of Iowa, and have since been two of the best friends. Kari was also a regular at the Niners games to support George, highlighting how deep her friendship with Claire ran.

When Kari Pekar was fighting her battle against stage 4 colorectal cancer at 31, the Kittles ensured she got all the help required and even took to social media to raise support for a close friend in January. Six months later, she passed away.

Claire Kittle penned an emotional note for her on Instagram.

“We’ve dreaded this day. Our sweet, perfect girl Karbear went to Heaven,” Claire Kittle wrote on Instagram. “There is no one more caring, more loving, more genuine, or more kind than Kari. We didn’t deserve her, and God knew it. She gets to be home with Him now, finally pain free. Now an angel watching over her sweet baby girl Ivy and her incredible husband Peter.”

“So sorry for your loss. Sending you all my love ❤️❤️❤️,” a friend of Claire’s wrote.

Similarly, Claire’s friend and comedian Shannon Ford Middleton shared, “My heart breaks reading this. I’m so so sorry💔.”

” There will never be a kinder human to have walked this earth than Kari, she’s always been an angel. May she rest in peace,” Erin Alvey, another close friend of Claire’s, commented.

This is a developing story and will be updated soon.