Community Mourns Loss Of Beloved Baseball Coach

NORTH BABYLON, NY - A Long Island woman started a fundraiser to help the family of a beloved North Babylon baseball coach after he unexpectedly died last Sunday.

Tom Morton was away on business when he suffered from an anaphylatic reaction to food and had to be hospitalized in critical condition. He was on life support but didn't make it through the night.

He leaves behind his wife, Melissa Morton and their four children Tommy, Samantha, Mathew, and Nicholas.

"Toms wife, Melissa, will need lots of help now since she is a stay at home mom raising 4 kids," family friend Melissa Beyer told Patch. "Tom always helped his community by volunteering so much of his time coaching and coordinating for the NYBL that we need to give back to them at this tragic time of need."

Many in the North Babylon community mourned the local coach on Facebook following the news of his death.

Following his untimely death, Beyer started a campaign on GoFundMe. In just four days the page has raised $21,651 to help his family. The goal is to raise a total of $35,000.

"Every dollar, every thought and prayer count for this family right now," Beyer wrote on the page.

To read more or to donate, visit the GoFundMe page here.

GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.