Butler Funeral Home

It’s still hard to believe my best friend is not here no more,” Hailie Slupe said.The Butler Area Senior High School junior unexpectedly died while getting ready for school Friday morning.“I was at her house every weekend. I’d go hang out. I’d text her mom and surprise her,” Slupe said.Brianne Rapp (Photo Courtesy: Family)Brianne’s dad, Michael, said he got a frantic call from his daughter’s mom early Friday.“She was hysterical on the phone and she told me she was gone. I thought maybe she ran away or something. I didn’t realize she meant she passed away,” Michael Rapp said.Michael said Brianne was in the shower getting ready for school. Her mom was still sleeping.“We’re thinking she blacked out in the bathtub and fell and hit her head and was found by my ex,” Rapp said. “We don’t know if maybe hair clogged the drain but the tub overflowed.”Michael said Brianne had a thyroid problem and was on medicine for it. He said she’s blacked out a few times before so he’s not sure if she just slipped and fell or blacked out.The coroner has not yet released the official cause of death.“I’ll miss her smiling face and her great personality and wanting the best out of life,” Rapp said. “Her mother and I are so proud to have raised a girl that people have so many nice things to say.”A GoFundMe account has been set up to help with funeral expenses: https://www.gofundme.com/kf6yh-funeralThe family is also planning a spaghetti dinner at Smokin’ Toad’s BBQ in Sarver on Monday, June 11 at 6 p.m. to help with costs.A viewing will take place Tuesday at Thompson-Miller Funeral Home in Butler from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. Funeral services will be held Wednesday at Hill United Presbyterian Church at 3 p.m.

Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Thompson-Miller Funeral Home and a funeral will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Hill United Presbyterian Church. Authorities said that Brianne fell in the bathroom of her family’s home on Pleasantview Avenue around 6:45 a.m. while getting ready for school. The results of an autopsy performed Friday night were pending standard toxicology tests, but the likely cause of death was drowning, Deputy Coroner Larry Barr said. The death was not considered suspicious, according to Butler Police Department. Bri is survived by her mother, Kimberly Shultz, of Butler, father Michael Rapp of Mars and two younger siblings, according to her obituary. “Brianne would always be there for her friends and never put herself first,” the obituary said. A fundraising campaign to cover funeral expenses was started over the weekend on gofundme.com by Brianne’s father. As of Sunday night, the campaign had raised $7,685. In an update, Rapp wrote that the family has decided to use leftover money to set up a college fund for Brianne’s brother and sister in her memory. The full obituary appears in Monday’s Butler Eagle.